Up And Down And All Around

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ne evening I was reminded just how dependent we are on elevators.  My office at the university was in the basement of our building.  The main office and many of our classrooms are were the second and third floors.  To gain access to any of these, I would walk down the hall and join the long line of people waiting for the elevator to arrive and whisk us to any floor of our choosing.  The elevator usually took its own precious time.  This was especially true when I was in a hurry and needed to get to a classroom or the restroom!  The elevator provided an invaluable service but I definitely had to put myself on its schedule!  Rarely, if ever, did it put itself on mine!

When the elevator finally arrived and the magical doors opened, I stepped inside and pushed the button for the second floor.  The doors slid shut and the elevator began its upward ascent, carrying me to the second floor so I could make photocopies, visit with the secretaries in the main office, and check my mailbox.  While locked in the elevator, I came to the realization that my movement was taking place in only one direction.  The elevator could only transport me vertically; any horizontal movement had to be done on my own.  The elevator could take me to the correct level but it could not take me around the building or down the hall.  For that, I had to walk through the building and from side to side.  But one thing was sure: without the vertical motion, the horizontal motion wouldn’t have been possible.

Jesus found himself presenting the same truth to a teacher of Jewish law.  The teacher had asked a very important question and eagerly awaited Jesus’ response.  The teacher wanted to know Jesus’ opinion of the most important law on the books.  This was not the only time this question was put to Jesus and it was not the only time he gave the same correct answer.  Let’s take a look at Mark 12:28-31 to see the exchange between the teacher and the master, notice the profound difference in the titles!

“One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?" "The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself. ‘There is no commandment greater than these."

Please notice that Jesus’ answer contains both vertical and horizontal movement.  The command to love the Lord with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strength was the greatest commandment.  God wants and expects nothing less than for his people to love Him completely, with every fiber of their beings. But Jesus does not stop here.  After securing the importance of the horizontal relationship between us and God, he ventures forth on the horizontal plane.  Jesus continues by requiring us to develop the horizontal relationship with those around us, those people who Jesus identifies as our neighbors.  So not only is it necessary to have a right relationship with God (vertical) it is also required of us to have a right relationship with those around us (horizontal).  Jesus concludes by stating that there are no greater commandments than these two.

The next time you have the opportunity to take the elevator, think about the application of its motion to your spiritual life.  The up and down relationship we have with God (vertical) is essential.  We must spend time locked inside this relationship so that our lives reach the level of spiritual maturity God intends for us.  He invites us to rise from the basement of our relationship with Him to the top floor, growing and maturing as we ascend.  But God also expects us to get out of the spiritual elevator and minister to those around us (horizontal). 

We are to love our neighbors, those around us, with the same love we have for ourselves.  We have a responsibility to those around us to share the good news of Jesus Christ and to minister to their needs.  God expects us to spend our lives on both the vertical and horizontal planes.  However, we must keep these actions in the proper order.  Vertical relationship, the one between us and God, is the most important.  Without the vertical relationship, the horizontal relationship, the one between us and our neighbors, isn’t possible.  Listen carefully as you enter the elevator and you just might hear God whisper to you, “What floor please?”  Are you ready to leave the elevator and love your neighbor today?