There was a time when the people of Israel had no structure. There was no law for them to follow, they just followed God and wandered in the wilderness. As time progressed, God gave to Moses a very special piece of "literature." God spoke what we call the 10 Commandments to Moses. As they were written, they were two main principles on God's mind; love God and love people. The first four commands deal with our relationship to God and the last six deal with our relationship to other people.

Time went on. Things changed. Men who were in positions of religious leadership began to get their fingers into God's law. They began trying to explain more and more what God must have meant by certain commands. What did it mean to observe the Sabbath? Well these religious leaders had an answer, written out in true political form. What did it mean to obey your parents? Well they could sure tell you. By the time they were done adding in what they thought God really meant, there were 613 commands. 613 laws to be followed.

Now here we find Jesus, being tested by these very same religious leaders. The same ones who when Jesus was twelve years old, astounded them with His knowledge. Now at thirty-three, they are trying to trap Him with a Bible quiz. "Teacher, what is the greatest commandment?" And rather than give them an answer they were hoping for, rather than give them bait to trap Him, Jesus finds path "C." He chooses a different answer. One that will help shut them up for the time being. Jesus returns to God's original plan. Jesus says, "Love God with EVERYTHING you've got and love people as if you are loving yourself.

Two things.

Two simple things.

Two simple ideas.

Two simple rules.

And with that, the conversation begins to wind down very quickly. We are not called to remember a rule book. We are called to love God above all else. And if we really love God above all else, then you will love His creation also. Do you store bitterness, contempt and hate in your heart towards another believer in Christ or to someone outside of Jesus, maybe at work? If so, you can't truly love God (1 Jn. 2:1-11). What relationship do you need to restore and reconcile? What relationship on earth do you need to heal so that you can get back to God's main business, the business of loving Him and loving people?

Matthew 22:36-40