“Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”
Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:36-40 NLT)
Jesus showed that loving God is the key and that loving others will follow naturally; because if you’re loving God with all that you are, you can love all of God’s creations - that [love others] isn’t the same as getting along with [others]. I’m pretty sure that’s why Paul told us that we had to work on renewing our mind, since our flesh has a tendency to be very selfish and to get our bodies into submission - we have to conquer the flesh and change the way we think.
And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. (Romans 12:1-2 NLT)
This ‘living and holy sacrifice’ is like killing off our old ways, habits, thoughts and actions of our flesh. Now that we are capable of seeing our past sins, we can recognize the holiness that is now in us; our spirit, as new creations in Christ - has cast light on the darkness and the struggle of the old (flesh) versus the new (spirit). We see who we were (fleshly, decaying, and sinful) and what we are to become - that is, we are to become like Christ.
Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy. (Ephesians 4:21-24 NLT)
Jesus spent His time healing the sick, loving the unlovable, and feeding the hungry - if you notice He did all these outside of the church walls. That means, when we’re not in church - we ARE the church; but some also take that to mean that they don’t need to attend a church either. Jesus was in the temple on the Sabbath - and today, although everyday is the Sabbath - we need to realize that as the church, we each have a part. Jesus is the head of the church and just as we need the head - we also need the hands, the feet, the eyes and the ears. God’s plan for the church is perfect, but if you believe your way is better you can take that up with God.
Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love. (Ephesians 4:15-16 NLT)
Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.
In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. (Romans 12:4-6 NLT)
