Time is Winding Up

There were two commandments that Jesus Christ gave in the New Testament:  Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind, and love your neighbor as yourself (see Matthew 22:37-40).  All of His other teachings fit neatly into those two commandments.  When you look at organized Christianity today, do you see these two commandments being modeled?  (And I don’t mean at Thanksgiving and Christmas with fruit baskets and adopted families.)

We have a lot of stuff, but where is the love?  We’ve created rules to follow, dress codes to enforce, political parties to endorse, and governing boards to determine acceptable doctrine.  What happened to demonstrating Christ’s love in the earth?  I believe that our various programs and services are usually not bad in and of themselves.  There is no doubt in my mind that most of our traditions began with something that was necessary at the time.

However, as I look today at what we are doing and comparing it to those two great commandments, I am confused.  We have no balance.  We’re heavy on the rules and regulations, but tragically light on the love (for God and each other).  We’ve become pleasers of men, rather than servants of Christ.  We must return to our first love and our first works.  Time is short; we are living in the last days.  We are responsible for sharing the love of Christ with this dying world.

Galatians 1:10 (NASB) For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ.

Revelation 2:4-5 (NASB) But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place—unless you repent.