Remembering both of the greatest commands

Mark Lauterbach looks at Jesus' healing of the woman in Luke 13:10 and makes a dynamite observation about true faith and religiosity:

Here is the point: Religiosity misses the person. It thinks of all obedience as having only an interest in God. The greatest commands, on the other hand, are two -- God and man. When we miss reflecting on how our application may serve others, we miss part of how to apply. . . .

Religiosity sees only God and the commands, and labors at application without regard to the humans around it. It is not concerned with justice or mercy, but only with keeping the details of human traditions (specific applications of general commands that have been elevated to the level of the command), even if it means harming people. The story of the Good Samaritan is another case in point -- the religious folks missed the need, and the despised Samaritan revealed an understanding of God and his ways beyond them. It is not that we disobey the Bible -- it is that we figure out how to obey it without regard to people around us.

Amen.