Random thoughts - Central message of Jesus

Within the last few weeks I have been preaching and teaching about the central message of Jesus. We so often immediately respond that the central message of Jesus is love. I won't deny that it is an important lesson that Jesus teaches us, to love God with all that we are and love our neighbors likewise. But is that the central message?

I have come to believe that the central message is shown to us through scripture in the life and teachings of Jesus. Jesus, the special gift of God, God incarnate, has such a unique relationship wth God, creator and Father, that we often miss that Jesus of all people probably did not need prayer as much as we do. And yet, Jesus is in constant prayer. I believe that leads us to the conclusion that the central message is that we need to be in an intimate relationhip with God as the central part of our lives. God is the center of everything we know and hold dear and yet we almost always leave God out of our decision making and discussions. A typical meeting in the church starts with a short prayer and then we jump right in. Our personal decisions almost never utilize prayer when we go about our daily lives, even when those decisions are major.

My own life has been choatic at times, most of them as a result of decisions that I have made outside of the relationship with God. When I find myself in those places it is always God I turn to, but what if we turned to God before the choas? In my daily devotions now there is a place for silent contemplation and prayer. Bishop Cho of the Virginia Annual Conference has challenged us to one hour of prayer each day. That can be divided in segments throughout the day. I have found that when I give God and hour, my world seems less choatic. Maybe it really still is but I am able to deal with it better.

So the central message of Jesus is a personal and intimate relationship with God. It starts with prayer, a deeper prayer life where we are in constant communication with God and listening is a required aspect of that conversation.