There are always things to do
It seems never ending all the little projects there are around the house to fix, install, or upgrade. It’s nice to have that sense of fulfillment when you’re done with something, not to mention accolades from someone who noticed. But the best reward is getting the project right.
One project that I find particularly tricky is hanging curtain rods. They have to be the right height, positioned correctly, and level. The combination of those things is critical, and it all hinges on the proper mounting of the curtain rod hangers. The hangers have to be strong, and they have to be in the right place. Not strong enough and the curtains come down. Not in the right place and the curtains can’t do their job.
Jesus was asked a trick question
The religious Jews didn’t like Jesus. He threatened them. So they sent one of their best minds, a lawyer, who asked Jesus a tough question…
“Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”
Jesus replied, “‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:36–40, NLT)
Besides the micdrop on the smug lawyer, Jesus reveals an incredibly important principle: everything in God’s kingdom hangs between and on love. On one side there’s our love for God. And on the other side there’s our love for people.
If you love God, but not people, or vice versa, you love is not real. (“If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar.” 1 John 4:20). But there’s even more at stake.
Back to the curtain rod
Envision a curtain rod with curtains hanging on it. The curtains are beautiful, colorful, and useful. They represent all the things that are ours through Jesus: salvation, faith, worship, ministry, etc. Yet, they are totally dependent on the on the two rod hangers, which represent the love mentioned earlier: our love for God, and our love for others. If the curtain is used without both sides being strong, the whole thing fails.
The wonderful thing is that God is the one who places these two essential elements of love in our lives. We love Him because He first loved us (1 John 4:19), and then as a result we love others (1 John 3:14). He sets His love in our lives as anchor points for everything else, and this is something only He can do.
No wonder hanging curtains is so difficult.
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