The Heart Above the Letter

What is the balance in your relationship with the Creator when it comes to following commands and making the relationship the priority?

Is following God only about a list of do and do not?

No!

There is a heart to everything—that heart being love for God and others.

If you have no love, you have nothing in this life.

As Paul mentioned, without love, you’re just a clanging cymbal without true purpose.

I’m not referring to eros (romantic love in Greek) but to having love for others.

God made this universe out of love for the humans He planned to make one day. The stars above shine for us, the eyes of our dog look at us with longing and reverence, and the sand grains at the beach are there to place your feet in.

God is the perfect embodiment of love. Some people freak out about the judgmental side of the LORD, but if you read the entire Bible, you’ll realize God has no pleasure in the death of anyone.

Jesus shows me every time I open the Gospels what love looks like. It’s not destroying people with clobbering verses. My pastor from The Way Congregation in Lakewood, Colorado, teaches us that Torah is great and all, but if you have no love, what good is it?

God wants you to keep His commandments. But He wants your heart more than checking off a list or people-pleasing others who are self-righteous.

Look at the world of Ex-Mos and Jehovah’s Witnesses. They’ve deconstructed away from an oppressive system and are rightfully suspicious of anything too legalistic. I’ve watched the horror stories on the Mormon Stories Podcast by John Dehlin, and I feel in my heart that those people were genuinely led astray by a system that helps a few at the top.

It is sad to me that the most judgmental people on this Earth are found within religious circles. I have my share of criticisms of organized religion and those within it, but I believe in grace most of all.

You can keep the Torah better than me, but if you have no love for someone else, that becomes worthless in the eyes of God.

What is the weightiest matter of all? Loving others and showing light in this world.

Jesus said, “It is lawful to do good on the Sabbath,” in Matthew 12:12.

He showed us that love supersedes mere rules and regulations, even God’s own commandments. If in doubt, fall back on loving other people.

Don’t let religion tell you what you can and can’t do.

Only God’s instructions show us the truth of every facet of our lives.

If you love people—teach them what the example of Christ looks like in action.

That might be the only gospel they’d ever see in their lives.

If humans make things too rigid and add a bunch of rules that aren’t there to follow, they are the opposite of the God who sets people free.

Loving God is like a passionate romance with the divine. If you aren’t all in, the spark will fade into the ether like a ghost of flame.

Please always keep loving others at the top of your priority list.

Blessings and shalom to you this week!