Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. – Matthew 5:19
“Relax,” people say. “It’s not that big of deal.”
And in regards to many things that we spend our time worrying and fretting about they are right. Unfortunately often times when we hear this remark it is not in response to our fear but in response to our adherence to God’s standards. If Satan can convince us that it is not a big deal to ignore one of God’s rules than it is a short trip to believing that it is not a big deal to ignore many or most of them. Yet, loving Jesus means devotion to the same things that were important to Him, and the passage above and others (for example John 6:38) make it clear that doing the will of the Father was of utmost importance to Christ.
There are many things in life that we should probably be more relaxed about, but our commitment to obeying God’s commands should not be one of them. Because of our deep love for Him we should desire to do the things that please Him, and to teach others to do the same.
