How am I doing?

How am I doing in life?

One of the scariest questions to ask in any relationship is, “how are we doing? Is this thing going well?”

If you’ve ever been in a romantic relationship then you probably know what I’m talking about. Maybe you have strong feelings for someone, maybe you even love them. But you’re not sure whether they feel the same way about you. And you really want to know where you stand in the relationship and how they feel. But you can’t just go up to them and say, “hey, I love you, do you feel the same way about me?” No, that would be crazy! So, instead you try and maybe nibble around the conversation. You try to figure out how the other person feels through signs and suggestions. If they text you right back or say that they had fun after a date or wish you luck before something important happens in your day, then you're good. But if they don’t do one or any of those things then you can assume it’s all going to go up in flames soon so you shouldn’t get too close.

Well, this scribe, he doesn’t beat around the bush. He does the crazy thing and asks Jesus a straight up question. He says, “hey, there are 613 laws, what’s actually important?” Or, in other words, “how do I know if I’m right with God?

And Jesus gives him a straight answer. He says the great Shema prayer.

Hear, O Israel!
The Lord our God is Lord alone!
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
with all your soul,
with all your mind,
and with all your strength.

But he doesn’t stop there either. Jesus goes for a little extra credit and points to the secondary importance of loving your neighbor as yourself. 

When the Scribe affirms Jesus’ answer, Jesus tells him where he’s at in his relationship with God. He says, “you’re not far”. In other words, you’ve got work to do. You understand the law and what’s important but you’ve got some work to do to turn that understanding into reality. But you’re not far. 

And what happens to everyone else? They clam up. They don’t want to know how far or near they are to the Kingdom of God. If those truly are the two most important laws in life, well that’s maybe a test they wouldn’t receive a passing grade one. 

This Sunday, don’t be like everyone else in the crowd. Dare to assess your relationship with God. Dare to figure out how close or far you are to the Kingdom. Evaluate your life. 

How well are you loving the Lord with your heart? With your soul? With your mind? With your strength?

And how well are you treating your neighbor? Is it with the same level of mercy, tenderness, and generosity that you would hope you might receive? Or is there something lacking? 

When I do this, I know I have a lot of work to do. But I also know that I’m not dead yet. There’s still time to turn it all around. And the same is true for you. 

God bless you and remember, you were made to do hard things!