To share about her ministry in Japan, one mission worker often wears a kimono -- a beautiful floor-length robe with wide sleeves that's tied at the waist with a sash called an "obi." Her outfit is both an example of Japanese culture and an object lesson that she uses to explain Colossians 3:14: "Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony." In the Japanese Bible she says, this verse is translated as "put on the 'obi' of love, which ties everything together in perfect harmony." Just as the obi ties the kimono together so beautifully, so love ties everything together.

The same object lesson could be used to explain Jesus' response when he is asked by a scribe, "Which commandment is the first of all?" In other words, which commandment is the mos…