The Gospel in a nutshell: Out with “religion” and in with love
When a young religious ruler asked Jesus what he could do to inherit eternal life, the Lord pointed
to the commandments, which he already knew: Thou shall do no murder,
Thou shall not commit adultery, Thou shall not steal, Thou shall
not bear false witness, Honor thy father and mother, and Thou shall
love thy neighbor as thyself.1 Although the man said he kept these
commandments, Jesus knew that he did not love God with all his heart
and his neighbor as himself. Love was the one thing that could give
him eternal life. To show that his heart was filled with religion
and not love, Jesus told him to sell all he had, give the money
to the poor, and come follow him. The man went away sad because
he loved his earthly possessions more than he loved his neighbor
and wanted to be with Christ.
Jesus told the religious
rulers that publicans and harlots would enter the kingdom of God
before them – and he wasn’t talking about those who
get religion and become respectable. We fulfill all of the law and
prophets, he said, simply by loving our neighbor as ourselves.2
Not love plus morality, or religious ceremonies, or knowledge of
the scriptures or anything else. The way to eternal life is narrow,
he said, because it is paved with one thing and not many.2 Religious
people who try to keep many commandments to gain eternal life do
not believe that love is sufficient. Consequently, Jesus said, the
road to destruction is broad and heavy with traffic.
This being the case, Jesus taught,
Judgment Day will not be anything at all like what most people expect.
Many who do wonderful works in his name will be cast out of God’s
kingdom while others who didn’t know they had done anything
for the Lord are accepted.3 In others words, his kingdom will look
just like it did when he ministered to the multitudes: a humble
savior surrounded by all kinds of people, even harlots, who loved
others. Jesus truly was a friend of sinners. Outside are many who
devoted their lives to being religious, who judged others but will,
in the end, find themselves judged. Inside are people from all sorts
of social, ethnic, and religious backgrounds – those who simply
loved others as themselves and, by doing so, loved God with all
their heart.
References
1 Mt 19:16-26; Lk 18:18-27
2 Mt 7:12-14
3 Mt 7:22-23; 25:31-46 |
