Matthew 22:34-46
34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
41 Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, 42 saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “The son of David.” 43 He said to them, “How is it then that David, in the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying,
44 “‘The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet’?
45 If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?” 46 And no one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.
Reflection
Jesus tells us that love for God is the “great and first commandment” (Matt. 22:38). We must remember, however, that love for God is something that only he can produce in us. The Bible tells us that love for God is possible only because God has first loved us by sacrificing his Son (1 John 4:19; see also Rom. 5:8). The grace and mercy that is offered to us through the sacrificial love of Jesus is what awakens our hearts to love and praise God.
Consequently, our love for God is what gives us the strength to obey the second great commandment, to love others. The order of these two great commandments is important. We are not able to truly love our neighbor in the deepest sense until we have an appreciation for what Jesus did for us on the cross. Once we see and admire the God of grace and mercy, we will find the ability to offer that same self-sacrificing love to others.
1 Corinthians 4:6-21
6 I have applied all these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brothers, that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up in favor of one against another. 7 For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?
8 Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! Without us you have become kings! And would that you did reign, so that we might share the rule with you! 9 For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men. 10 We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute. 11 To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and buffeted and homeless, 12 and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; 13 when slandered, we entreat. We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things.
14 I do not write these things to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children. 15 For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. 16 I urge you, then, be imitators of me. 17 That is why I sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church. 18 Some are arrogant, as though I were not coming to you. 19 But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I will find out not the talk of these arrogant people but their power. 20 For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power. 21 What do you wish? Shall I come to you with a rod, or with love in a spirit of gentleness?
Reflection
Paul’s final words on the fighting and favoritism in Corinth are summarized in this command: “be imitators of me” (1 Cor. 4:16). Paul’s life was an example of Christ-centered living that his spiritual children were now called to follow (vv. 14–17; cf. 10:32–11:1). Rather than viewing leaders like him through the world’s lens of human accomplishment and boasting, the Corinthians were to imitate their “ways in Christ” (4:17). The path may not have been appealing to the Corinthians, who were attracted to wealth and power (v. 8). Paul’s ways were marked by foolishness, weakness, dishonor, and desperate need (vv. 9–12). On top of this, Paul was enduring hardship with Christlike compassion, even praying for those who treated him like “scum” and “refuse” (vv. 12–13).
In short, the Christian life is not a self-indulgent pursuit of the pleasures of this world, and godly men like Paul have set an example worth imitating. Those who follow Christ must learn to walk in the ways of the cross.
Psalm 77:11-12
11 I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your wonders of old. 12 I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds.
If our love for God and others is fueled by knowing his love for us, then we must regularly reflect on what he has done for us in Christ. Consider the grace that has been freely purchased for you, and give thanks to God for your eternal life.