Matthew 22:37-40
37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart,
and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38 This is the first and great commandment.
39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Isaiah 58:13
“If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day;
and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him,
not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:”
The Ten Commandments can be summarized in two overall principles: love toward God (Deuteronomy 6:5)
“And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy
might.”
and love toward neighbor (Leviticus 19:18) “Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the
children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.”.
The first four commandments deal with our relationship
with God, and the last six commandments expound on our relationship with fellow man.
What does it mean to have a relationship with God? An analogy is frequently used to describe the
relationship between Christ and the church is that of a groom and a bride. (Revelation 21:1-4)
1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away;
and there was no more sea.
2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride
adorned for her husband.
3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he
will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow,
nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
Likewise, Paul writes in II Corinthians 11:2: “For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For
I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.”
The word
“betrothed” seems somewhat archaic; today, we would say the church is “engaged” to Christ. By making
the New Covenant with Him, we have agreed to spend all eternity with Him, but at present, we are within
the period preceding the marriage described in Revelation 19:7-9.
7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife
hath made herself ready.
8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is
the righteousness of saints.
9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb.
And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.
Following the analogy, we are to be
preparing ourselves for this future relationship. During this preparation time, the parties involved
are getting to know each other. God the Father has handpicked us for this relationship, and now is the
time we need to make ourselves ready.
How does this fit into the Sabbath and the concept of ownership? God has already established a regular
meeting time with us—a “date,” as it were. Every week, that part of our schedule is already determined.
Sabbath time has been specially designated as the Bride’s time with Jesus Christ. This does not mean
that we should restrict our interaction with Him to this day; on the contrary, part of each day should
be devoted to prayer and Bible study. Nevertheless, this is a primary reason the seventh day has been
set apart and made holy.
What does this mean practically? Imagine a couple planning to marry. Being devoted to one another, they
have set their wedding date and have agreed to meet on a weekly basis. It is easy to see that, if the
young man shows up at the designated time, but the young woman suddenly decides that there is a more
convenient time, a rift is going to develop in the relationship. Obviously, the correct day is vitally
important. God has already established that day.
Suppose the couple gets the day right, and they meet and spend time together. What if the young lady,
in the midst of this quality time she is supposed to be spending with the one she loves, pulls out a
cellphone and begins talking to her friends, as if her fiancé does not even exist? What if the topic
of conversation, either between her and her friends or between her and her fiancé, is little more than
gossip or what she is planning on doing as soon as her weekly date with her alleged beloved is over?
Or, what if their date, which her betrothed had made special for them, has become a mere ceremony to
her? What if she just goes through the motions, doing the things required of her, showing little or
no feeling about what this relationship really means to her?
On a spiritual level, we are commanded to assemble, if possible, and part of our Sabbath is intended to
be for fellowshipping. What are the topics of our conversation? Do sports, entertainment, shopping, or
business advance our relationship with God? Is catching up on the latest gossip and social news
appropriate for this time that does not belong to us? During this weekly appointment, where do our
thoughts wander? Do we think about our business interests or financial concerns? Do we think about
or make plans for what we are going to do as soon as the sun sets? Do we esteem Saturday night more
than the time God has set apart for us to meet with Him? Are our Sabbath services mere ceremonies?
Are we demonstrating to God by our actions on this day that we are eagerly looking forward to spending
eternity with Him?
These are points to ponder.
“Only one life to live and soon is past
Only what’s done for Christ will last!”
Hoping to make the time I have left count for the glory of God.
Matthew 22:37-40