“T
eacher, which is the GREATEST
COMMANDMENT in the Law? Jesus
replied: Love the Lord your God with all your
heart and with all your soul and with all your
mind.This is the first and greatest
commandment. And the second is like it:
Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law
and the Prophets hang on these two
commandments.” Matthew 22:36-40.
When we consider the conditions under which
our brethren are living in the refugee camps
– the hunger at times, because it is not
possible for the authorities to
provide adequately for everyone,
the humiliation and general
inconvenience, the feel-
ings of despair and
sense of hopelessness
with no idea of how
long they must
endure this hard-
ship, especially for
those with families
and their concern
for the future of
their children
in this
pessimistic
situation, and
those older brethren
whose aging bodies are suffering under these
harsh conditions, how actively are we seeking
to apply these two commandments – the
greatest - in our love towards Our Heavenly
Father? Jesus, the Son of God provided the
example in submitting to his Heavenly
Father’s will in giving his life, going the full
length, suffering the heartless brutality of
13
A Man or Woman of God
... continued ~
that we should not eat and drink unworthily,
so coming under condemnation at the last
day (1 Cor 11:29).
5) Desiring Christ’s appearing
Where there is a will there is a way.
An
The Second Greatest Commandment
| Sis Esther Worrell (Canada)
important attribute of a man of God is a firm
belief in the return of Christ and the setting
up of God’s glorious kingdom on earth. By
having lived a life focused on that wonderful
time now, giving diligence to enter into that
rest (Hebrews 4:11).
crucifixion, to remove us from the hopeless
bondage of our sinfulness “and hath raised us
up together, and made us sit together in
heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians
2:6). He fully realized and responded thus to
God’s great love and entire focus to reclaim
mankind to himself. This is the essence of
Gospel Message, and therefore the basis of
the two commandments, which in its
absolute greatness, forms the support of all
the law and prophets. In following Christ, our
goal should be carrying out the will of our
Heavenly Father in applying our lives to the
principle of so pleasing him, by extending
our effort to provide for our
suffering brethren the
same relief we need for
ourselves. It was not
easy for Jesus, as his
entire life was one of
sacrifice for mankind,
climaxing in his cruci-
fixion, but God was his
stay, sending his angel to
strengthen him when he
appealed for the needed
strength. While Jesus’
sacrifice was aimed at
redeeming us from our
sinfulness, he brought out in his
parable in Luke 10:27–37, the practical
way in our everyday lives, in which these
commandments could be applied. Our
brethren in the refugee could be likewise
described as being stripped of all their
possessions, wounded in spirit and lying half
dead in their hopeless existence.
~ continued ...