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. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. (Matthew 22:37-39 ESV)
Fear Not… Then Love
My weed-eater was taken apart and spread out on my workbench. I sort of recognized most of the parts, but it had been two months since I took it apart. I sort of remembered my plan of repair, but somehow, in that moment, all I could do was hold a socket wrench, 3-in-1 oil, and some duct tape… and stare at the disassembled machine.
I did not even know where to begin.
But then I recalled two basic tenets of lawn-machinery assembly. First, figure out ALL the parts before assembling ANY parts. And second, things that look like they fit together, probably do.
With those concepts as a foundation… the reassembly began! I was no longer afraid.
Each day, we have decisions spread out before us like a torn apart weed-eater on a workbench. Some days we do not know where to begin.
But Jesus gives us two basic tenets of the Christian life: Love God, and Love Others.
Every decision fits onto those two foundations. How can this decision enable me to love God? And how can this decision enable me to love others?
I did not need a Masters’ Degree in Weed-eater-ology to know what to do. And we do not need a Masters’ Degree in Theology, either.
We need two foundations.
Love God.
Love Others.
And we can know what to do in any situation.
Fear not, then love.