*Deuteronomy 21-22
Psalm 29
Mark 13
-Devotion by Jeremy Martin (TN)
I’m very partial to and fond of the book of Deuteronomy for a couple reasons. First and foremost, Jesus quoted out of this particular book religiously (no pun intended). When Jesus was tempted, every single one of his responses was from the book of Deuteronomy (go ahead and verify that if you like, per temptation: hungry? Deut 8:3, test God? Deut 6:16, worship Satan? Deut 6:13). When Jesus said “It is written…”, this is usually the book that he’s quoting from that it was written in; which tells me it was probably pretty important.
When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was, he quoted Deuteronomy 6:4-5, “The Shema”: 4“Hear, O Israel! Yahweh is our God, Yahweh is one! 5You shall love Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (LSB Translation). If you don’t have that one memorized and know it by heart, you really should, because according to Jesus it’s the greatest commandment; see Mark 12:29-31. It’s one of the primary reasons that many of us understand our God in the manner in which we do, since it was given in such a clear manner. This passage alone should have prevented a number of the innacurate understandings (but clearly didn’t, starting in about the 4th century and persisting to this very day).
When I was younger and read some of the Old Testament statutes given to the Israelites, I thought some were just weird. I didn’t really understand that this is because the statutes were given to an entirely different culture, in an entirely different time and place, and that they make much more sense when read holistically and with a more “macroscopic” lens. When you take a step back most of these laws had to do with respect; respect for your community, respect for your fellow creation, and respect for your God. The thing that I didn’t understand the most at the time was that respect for my fellow creation WAS respect for my God, or at least one aspect of it.
Looking at just a few of these today from our reading, there is one specific point I’d like you to consider, and take away from this reading: (Deut 22:2 LSB ) “And if your brother is not near you, or if you do not know him, then you shall bring it home to your house, and it shall be with you until your brother searches for it; then you shall give it back to him.”. This is the key question I’d like for us to think about today: Who is our brother? We see from the above passage that they don’t need to be near us, and that we don’t even need to know them. I would suggest that based on these two simple criteria that our brother (or sister, or “sibling” if you’d rather) is any other human being (which God created) that is sharing this planet (which God also created) with us (see also Luke 10: 25-37 for a more complete understanding). Your brother is everyone, just as your sister is everyone, just as your neighbor is everyone.
So when Jesus gave us the second greatest commandment in Mark 12:31, “…You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (quoting Lev 19:18), it sets a pretty high standard for this type of love. I mean, let’s be honest: while most of us like our neighbors plenty, do we really love them as much as we love ourself? Do you regularly think of how much food others have when you’re buying groceries for your family? When you buy new clothes for yourself, are you also concerned about what the guy down the street is wearing? When you get a new car, do you ever stop and consider how the next door neighbor’s vehicle is working? I’d say that (speaking for myself at least) while I try to be a good Christian I tend to think about myself a lot more than I think about other folks, and the further out they are from me the more that is the case. I could say that a lot of this is due to the wealth driven society that I grew up in here in America or the “current evil age” that we’re in, but then Christ came to save us and gave everything he did while we were still in our sin. We should remember that when we consider how we act towards others, even when wronged.
Applying the verse above we see that people that we don’t even know are our brother, our neighbor. So what about their needs? What about that homeless guy, or the addict, or that guy who goes to a different church that doesn’t believe the same thing, or that guy/gal that uses weird pronouns? Can we truly say that we love them as much as we love ourself? If we did, we’d think about all of them every time we thought about doing something for ourself, and we just don’t. It’s an almost impossibly high standard and one in which I personally fail almost constantly, if I’m being honest.
I believe that a very, very important thing to remember is that God created us in His own image so that we would have dominion over the things on the earth (Gen 1:26), which comes with some privilege and some responsibility. We have been placed here on this earth with our fellow creations, and allowed to have the resources and wealth that we currently possess by the grace of God, in order to reflect the character of God. God is the most gracious, the most merciful, and being created in His image means that we should be reflecting that graciousness and mercy as well. Think about how patient God has been with you. Do you show that same patience to others? Think about how generous God has been with you. Do you show that same generosity to others? Think about how forgiving God has been with you. Do you show that same forgiveness to others? Think about it for a moment. Now consider that even with all of the offenses that humanity has committed against God, from the beginning of history, He STILL sent us Jesus. Sober reflection on this will show us that we have a long way to go if we are going to accurately reflect God’s love.
Have you ever been watching TV or listening to the radio and hear a loud alarming series of beeps which are followed by a “This is a test. This is only a test” message? Well, we don’t get that loud annoying sound in life, but I’d like you to consider that this life that you have been given is also just a test. God has strewn seeds all along the road, and the ones that grow and develop fruit in the manner which He desires will be brought into the storehouse and saved (The Kingdom). Those that do not grow in the manner He desires and bear the proper fruits will be discarded. If you are ever so focused on yourself that you do not stop to consider “Am I my brothers’ keeper?”, then please stop for a moment and understand fully that the answer is a resounding YES, because God made you that way, as His representative. So, child of God, represent.
REFLECTION QUESTIONS
How can I better reflect the character of God…
- With my interactions with others?
- With the wealth and other resources that God has given me?
- With my time and attitude?
- With my patience?
- While bearing the fruits of the spirit?
When was the last time you…
- Bought a homeless person a meal?
- Offered a stranger a ride?
- Stopped and helped a stranger who was broke down?
- Offered to do a physically difficult task for an elderly person?
- What are some things that you CAN do/WILL do for a “sibling”/neighbor?
PRAYER
Father God, help me to circumcise my heart, and to reflect Your character to all of my brothers and sisters, to each of the other beautiful and unique humans which You have created, to glorify You. Please grant me the ability to show the same patience, mercy, and generosity that You’ve shown to me. Father God, thank you most of all for Jesus. Amen.
Seek Grow Love 