When I first started blogging in 2010, I started blogging on the theme of Loving God and People, hence the earlier domain name, LovingGodandPeople.com. The inspiration for the name of that website is of course from Jesus’ words in the Bible. A few years ago, while attending college, I was wrestling with the various principles, ideas, concepts, commandments, and more that I had read and studied related to God and the Bible through sermons, lessons, and lectures over the years. And I must admit, I was a bit overwhelmed. I came to a point in my time of prayer that I asked God, what do you really want of me. I really felt directed to the passage in the Gospels. Here is a brief look at the story when Jesus was dealing with some teachers in Matthew 22:35-40:
35One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question:36“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 37Jesus replied: ” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Reading this passage many years ago was refreshing for me. When it came down to it, what was most critical in my life was to love God and love people the way I loved myself! Looking at life through that filter, then, was helpful. It’s the “loving God and people” filter. I think we can all say we have fallen short of doing this in our lives, so I’m thankful that God loves us so much that He sent His Son Jesus Christ to die for our sins. And our response, then, is love. We love God by following Jesus Christ, obeying Him, and loving our world. In fact, Jesus said that the entire “Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Thus, probing the Word will help us get a better idea of what this all means.
By 2019, I had completed a PhD in Theology and was teaching theology full time. I began to realise that one of my passions was growing in my understanding of theology (the study of God and His world) and helping others do the same. Hence, I began to focus on what I called, “Theology Breakdown” – breaking down the transforming themes of theology in an accessible manner. Growing in our understanding of theology, is definitely a way we can grow in our love for God and others. My more focused concentration on “theology,” though, was an acknowledgement that I want to focus in on that key theme in a practical and helpful manner for others. That’s what I hope I can do for you.