As a part of my Lenten Experience, I have meditating and trying to live out the Jesus Creed. For those of you who don't know, The Jesus Creed is a book written by New Testament scholar Scot McKnight. The Jesus Creed is simply the Jewish Creed, the Shema combined with loving your neighbor as yourself.
"Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength." [Deut. 6:4-5]
[And now Jesus adds a verse from Leviticus. 19:18.]
"The second is this: "Love your neighbor as yourself." There is no commandment greater than these."
In his book, Dr. McKnight encourages readers to use the Jesus Creed as guide toward spiritual formation. He believes that this creed was the core of all that Jesus taught and exemplified. He writes, "For Jesus, love of God and love of others is the core. Love, a term almost indefinable, is unconditional regard for a person that prompts and shapes behaviors in order to help that person to become what God desires. Love, when working properly, is both emotion and will, affection and action."
Needless to say this book is proving to be a challenging, and a prophetic read. It continually calls me back to that original human task, reflecting the Image of God.
2 comments:
hey bro.
how's it going? i've becoming more and more a fan of dr. mcknight. i recently finished his book "a community called atonement"- easily one of the top ten books i've ever read!!
hope all is well with you and the fam!!!
talk to you soon
dj
GC,
Very happy to see your blogolatry. I hope we get a chance to visit eachother sometime. Lent's just begun for us. It seems late this year. Here's a link to a short read by Metropolitan Athony:
http://www.holytrinityorthodox.org/articles_and_talks/Lent_Met_Anthony.htm
Jeff
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