I’m writing on an iPad at about 28,000 feet in the air. It’s amazing how things change. Some things.

Other things never change. We all want to be valued; to be important to someone. I think that has been the case since the beginning of time. Value.

It’s the absence of value that hurts us. When people devalue us it cuts, stings and stays with us … for days, months or even a lifetime. The parent, the child, the spouse, the teacher, the boss.

Enter Jesus. In a culture where women were possessions, he valued them. In a society where children were discarded, he welcomed them onto his lap. The diseased had to announce their presence and Jesus walked into their gatherings and healed them. Sinners were treated with disdain yet Jesus went to their houses for dinner. He changed their lives with a message of accepting them and loving them even though they didn’t expect it.

Religious leaders didn’t like it all all. Jesus messed with their system. They were totally convinced that they were valuable because of position, status and adherence to systems. Jesus let them know they had it all wrong.

Matthew 22:36
36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law? 37 Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 .And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

That last part really stands out to me. Jesus said everything hangs, pivots, is built on the two commandments. Everything in the book is about loving God and loving others.

Today we have “Christians” protesting at funerals. We’re better known for what we oppose than what we support. Something has gone wrong. Way wrong.

Love people. Value people.

Everything hinges on loving God and loving people.