Back to Center

During the first century AD a great deal of rabbinic writing focused of circumcision, dietary laws, and keeping the Sabbath. The question is why? These are not the heart and core of the Jewish religion, and these are not "weightier matters of the Law". For some reason though these where hot topics of the day. These were the things scrolls were filled with and Rabbis taught about...these were boundary or identity markers. Religious groups and clubs have a tendency to be exclusive. They like to know who is in and they want others to know that they are in. Identity and boundary markers are the first things to let you know that you belong or give you a taste to see if what that group is about appeals to you. 

If I described someone wearing a white short sleeve dress shirt, conservative tie, and riding a 10 speed...you would say that that is a Mormon on mission. These are identity markers that say to those both on the outside and inside that he belongs to the Mormon church.  Jews today have there boundary markers and even Christians have boundary markers...like bumper stickers, tee shirts, and WWJD bracelets! These are not at the heart of what the group believes or teaches...but they sometimes get more attention then they deserve.

When Jesus showed up on the scene the religious guys were still obsessing over the same old things...circumcision, what you can and cannot eat, and are you resting on the seventh day. These boundary markers took over what the Jews where really about. They wrote more laws about these things and discussed them until they became so complicated that you needed a professional to help you understand what they meant. Then Jesus with his rag tag band of men began moving away from these identifying markers and moving towards what really mattered, the religious leaders had a fit. They believed that Jesus was challenging everything that they believed. People have a tendency to hold tightly and protect boundary markers because they are the tangible items that show that they belong. You have to remember that Jesus didn't come to destroy the Law (the Ten Commandments) but to fulfill and complete it. To Jesus, only one thing mattered and was worth being known for and that was at the very core of the Law.

When Jesus was asked what is the greatest commandment He replied: "'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.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." Jesus was not about boundaries because they keep people away...no He was about making a way for everyone to come to the center. He wasn't going to teach about what His followers were going to be outwardly known for, but rather how his followers responded to God and others around them. That is why He told stories like the good Samaritan, and touched leapers. If you love God the way to aught to, then by default you will love others around you...the reverse is also true.

I feel that some in the Church today (and myself included) can lose sight of what we are to be about. Sometimes I think we are more famously known for what we are against than what we are for. I feel that we are not identifiable as followers of Jesus because of the division among ourselves. How is it that Jesus told us "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another". Sadly we have to resort to cheap and corny boundary markers to let people know that we are followers Jesus now...when all the while He has invited us to join Him at the center.