Becoming Good at Love

Scripture: But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. Matthew 23:13

Observation: Jesus pronounces eight 'woes' upon the scribes and Pharisees, this being the first. It is related to all the rituals and requirements they have placed on everyone, and Jesus' message is very, very clear ... these rules subvert the true teaching of and will of God. God wants people to simply love him, and love one another, and all actions and behaviors that flow from those two objectives will be honorable.

The Pharisees define rules and procedures, and condemn people for failing to comply, this telling them they are unworthy of grace - and ultimately heaven - due to these failures. Meanwhile, they themselves comply with the rules, but in doing so they treat others poorly and judgmentally, and thus truly fall short of God's will. It is by the rules of the Pharisees that they tell others shut up heaven is shut to them, while they themselves are not entering it either.

Application: We want God to see us for what we are good at. The Pharisees thought they were good at complying with rules, and therefore wanted that to be the criteria by which they were judged. In turn, they made that the criteria upon which others were judged. Jesus is clear ... there is only one criteria, and that is the love of God, expressed by faith and belief in Messiah. This thought is directly associated with the end of chapter 22, where Jesus answered the question about the greatest commandment (love God and love others) and then immediately questioned the Pharisees about the identity of the Messiah. These points - love God and believe in Messiah - are clearly linked.

I believe in Jesus as the Messiah, the son of God. I need to generate the emotion of love in my heart more, however. I love God, but I don't always love his created. Yes, that isn't uncommon, but it is something to improve. I need to love others more. If I did, surely my actions would be different, and I would make better decisions and take better actions more often. I would comply with the best of the 'rules' ... not the ceremonial actions, but the moral behaviors. If I became good at love, everything else would improve.

Prayer: Lord, may I love you more every day, and in the outpouring of that love may I improve my love of others. I know I fail in this area, and it is that failing that is at the core of wrong behavior. All your laws hang on the idea of loving you and others. I love you, my Lord. May I love your created as much, and even more, than I love myself. Amen.