Nougat 12

For those of you who missed a Nougat last week, apologies. It was an oversight on my part and has

been sent.

Please receive Today’s Holy Nougat

Matthew 22:36, 39 NLT

[36] “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”

[39] A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’

Of Equal Importance

Something that is important carries value. It is a priority, and not much is allowed to come between us and that thing. When those Pharisees asked Y’shua what is the most important commandment, they wanted to know where He placed His priority. It is possible that they thought God would not have been the response. (Remember that they believed that Y’shua worshipped demons, or that He was Beelzebub (see Luke 11:14-28), so they were probably trying to out Him). But that was Y’shua’s answer – Loving God is our chief priority. He passed the ‘test’.

Self-Check

Do we harbour doubts about Y’shua? Who do we think/know Him to be?

Application

Not only did Y’shua pass their litmus test, but He also challenged them. Right away, Y’shua added the second commandment, of equal importance. In ascribing equal importance to the second commandment, Y’shua insisted that relations with our neighbours is top priority.

Oy, that’s a serious commitment.

When we reflect quickly on the Ten Commandments, we realize that they actually fall in two categories: our relationship with Adonai and our relationships with each other. Y’shua’s add-on commandment begs the question, how much do we love ourselves?

If others were to guess how we love ourselves based on how we treat each other, what would their answer reveal?

Given that, according to Y’shua, our neighbours include the despised among us (whether or not they meet our needs), how do we love our neighbours? Are there neighbours we’d rather not love? Should others assume that we don’t love those parts of ourselves that those neighbours represent?

This call to love our neighbours is an invitation to honour elders as though were our parents; to avoid character or real assassination; to respect the body and persona of the other; to respect and leave in tact their property; to honour them with truth; and to preserve the ownership of what is theirs.

That’s what’s of equal importance to Y’shua.

How important are they to us?

Assignment

Let’s start/continue to align our priorities with Y’shua’s.

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May all we seek be found in Christ