When people train for a marathon they do best when they set a goal and make a training plan. While that may lead to success for the event, what about the rest of life? Few people have the capacity to sustain the kind of intense and focused training required for marathons for the rest of their lives. After the race, new goals need to be set and new training plans made that can become a long-term lifestyle.
People of faith are called to follow a similar path, because the life of faith is not about preparing for a single event. Faith is a lifelong journey. This journey is shaped by a commitment to pray, worship, learn, give, and serve.
The Shema (Deut. 6:4-5) talks about loving the Lord totally. This teaching is central to both the Jewish and the Christian faiths. The great commandment is the foundation under which Jesus teaches. “Love God totally. Love others as you love yourself.” How do these commandments become part of a lifestyle on a daily basis? In the reading from Hebrews we are reminded that Jesus is the one who makes us pure and holy through his suffering, dying, and rising. Made holy by Jesus, the people of God are called to live differently, to treat one another differently, and to be gracious and loving to one another.
Many debates and conflicts that can consume time and energy in the Christian community would be resolved if they were measured against these two commandments. Are proposed actions going to help people know and carry out these commandments? Are today’s followers getting the training necessary to know how to love the Lord totally and love others as themselves?