JESUS ONLY OR SYNCRETISM
JESUS ONLY OR SYNCRETISM
And the statutes and the rules and the law and the commandment that he wrote for you, you shall always be careful to do. You shall not fear other gods, and you shall not forget the covenant that I have made with you. You shall not fear other gods, but you shall fear the LORD your God, and he will deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies.” However, they would not listen, but they did according to their former manner. So these nations feared the LORD and also served their carved images. Their children did likewise, and their children’s children—as their fathers did, so they do to this day. —II Kings 17:37-41
The way we live can have long-term ramifications— to our children and to their children’s children and beyond! That’s four generations if we include our own and then further into the future. So, it is not all about you and me, but about so many that can be influenced in the future by You and me. In the context above, in II Kings 17:43, tells us the impact of that generation’s lifestyle— “So these nations feared the LORD and also served their carved images. Their children did likewise, and their children’s children—as their fathers did, so they do to this day.” Syncretism— a mixture of beliefs and surely that is alive and well in our day. People say they “believe” and yet their lifestyle includes “gods” or “idols” of various sorts. The Lord is not top priority but just one of many priorities— syncretism.
What about you and me? Is Jesus really our top priority and focus? Or are their other things, other “gods” or “idols” that are as important to us? Remember, the greatest command is to “’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.” So, to love the Lord our God “is the first and greatest commandment.” No other commands are greater than this one. So, how are you and I being obedient to that one?
Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” —Matthew 22:37-40
The second command is “like” the first command as we are to love people, but the first command is the “greatest.” If we do not have the first command as our focus, as what is most important in our lives, then nothing else in our lives will be as it ought to be. We will be practicing syncretism in our lives— we will be mixing other priorities with the same importance as Jesus. So, how are you and I doing with this? May Jesus be our top priority! Yes, Dear Father, may this be so by the power of Your Holy Spirit and in the authority of Your Son Jesus. So may it be! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcmqSfr1ENY