TWO DEGREES
Greetings church family!
Air New Zealand Flight 901 was a sightseeing flight from Auckland to Antarctica on November 28, 1979. The crew believed their programmed flight path would take them safely over McMurdo Sound, an open-water area surrounded by mountains. However, due to a clerical error in the navigation computer, the course was altered by only two degrees.
That tiny difference—barely noticeable at the start—meant that instead of flying over safe sea ice, the plane was slowly and unknowingly being guided toward the side of Mount Erebus, a 12,448-foot volcano. After nearly four hours of flying, the cumulative effect of those two degrees put the plane dozens of miles off its intended track. Tragically, the aircraft crashed into the volcano, killing all 257 people on board.
Two degrees seems trivial, but in reality, it was the difference between life and death for the New Zealand flight.
In his gospel, Matthew shares the account of a Jewish expert of the law who engaged Jesus in discussion. “Teacher, which command in the law is the greatest?” the expert asked.
Jesus answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important command. The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.” (Matthew 22:36-40)
At times, some will summarize this passage as “Love God and love your neighbor.” I would propose that as harmless as this summarization seems, it can be just as unexpectedly harmful as the two-degree error of the aforementioned flight.
Satan is not threatened by people who love God. A person who loves God may be one who treats God as an accessory. For instance, one can love beaches without centering their entire life around going to the beach. This person very likely loves God, but in truth, loves something or someone else more than God (family, partner, career, material wealth, etc). However, Satan knows he is powerless against the person who loves God with their entire heart, soul, mind, and strength.
Furthermore, Satan is not threatened by people who love their neighbor. Someone who loves their neighbor has the potential to do so according to their own interpretation of how to love. However, by including the additional phrase "as yourself", Jesus establishes a standard. He invites the listener to meditate upon the dignity and respect they would like to receive themselves, and then calls on them to treat others in this same way. Satan knows his schemes of dehumanization are fruitless among believers who truly love others as they love themselves!
Heavenly Father, not our will but Yours be done. Send Your Spirit to fill our hearts with the everlasting love of Your kingdom in place of the fickle love found in the flesh. As a church family, we want to be all in in our love for You, and in our love for our neighbor. Reveal to us the contrast between loving You, and loving You with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Enlighten our heart with the distinction between loving our neighbor, and loving our neighbor as ourselves. Show us how these “two degrees” make all the difference. I pray this prayer in the name of Jesus, our blessed Savior. Amen!
Church family, enjoy the rest of your week, trusting that God is for you, God is with you, and God loves you!
Pastor Chris
