In today’s world, we can find the ABC’s and 123’s of how to do about anything! It used to be you could buy the yellow and black books titled “__________ for Dummies”. You could find “Tax Prep for Dummies”; “Baking for Dummies”; “Internet for Dummies”. It was the basic ABC’s and 123’s of how to learn things you wanted to know.
Today we also have a wealth of ABC’s and 123’s through the help of the internet. About anything you want to know how to do or make, you can find on Pinterest® or YouTube® apps. It’s our new “go to” when we need to know how to do anything.
I want to tell you that there are no lists of ABC’s and 123’s to being a Christian. There is no set of complicated rules listed on Pinterest® or acted out on YouTube®. Jesus explains it in the greatest instruction book of all. In Luke 10 starting with verse 25, an expert in the law was trying to test Jesus and he said, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” The man was looking for an answer of ABC’s or 123’s. Then in Matthew 22 starting with verse 34, another account in the gospel tells of the teacher asking a similar question: “What is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
In verses 37 and 38, Jesus replied with a simple answer, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Well there you have it, folks! No complicated rules or long lists of ABC’s or 123’s. It’s very simple – Love the Lord with your whole being and love other people as much as you love yourself. I didn’t say it’s going to be EASY to do; it’s simple to know and remember.
Remember whose we are. We are a child of the King. Remember we’re no dummy. We don’t need a yellow and black book for dummies or a complicated checklist of how-to’s listing ABC’s and 123’s of being a Christian. We need to remember to use the Bible – the greatest instruction book of all – and to remember to LOVE – love the Lord with your whole being and show that love to all people. It’s as simple as ABC and 123!
