“Now when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they assembled together. And one of them, an expert in religious law, asked him a question to test him: ‘Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?’ Jesus said to him, ‘“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.”’ This is the first and greatest commandment. The second is like it: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” All the law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.’” —Matthew 22:34–40
Have you ever wondered what God really desires from us? Well, in these verses it is made perfectly clear: Love God, love others. This sounds simple enough until we start living it out. First of all, to love God is impossible without the power of the Holy Spirit within us. And while it is perhaps easier for us to imagine ourselves loving God rightly and wholeheartedly, loving others is often extremely difficult.
Not just the ones we consider our friends; the nice ones, the ones who value our opinion, the ones who appreciate us. But the mean ones, the dirty ones, the obnoxious ones, those who make fun of us, or spit in our faces. We are supposed to love all those whom God puts in our path—readily, entirely, wholeheartedly.
In our verses for today, the person who posed the question to Jesus was also in agreement with the answer he received. Mark tells us:
“The expert in the law said to him, ‘That is true, Teacher; you are right to say that he is one, and there is no one else besides him. And to love him with all your heart, with all your mind, and with all your strength and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.’ When Jesus saw that he had answered thoughtfully, he said to him, ‘You are not far from the kingdom of God.’ Then no one dared any longer to question him.” —Mark 12:32–34
Jesus came to fulfill all the requirements for righteousness prescribed in the Old Testament Law. However, Jesus also came to usher in the New Testament law of love. All biblical law is fulfilled in this one word—love. Obedience to God begins with love. Love is to be the motivating factor of our actions.
Paul tells us:
“Owe no one anything, except to love one another, for the one who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, ‘Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not covet,’ (and if there is any other commandment) are summed up in this, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no wrong to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.” —Romans 13:8–10
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” —Galatians 5:22–23
Love is not a romantic emotion, nor is it fueled by the lust of the flesh or the greed of the eye. The Bible teaches of the love God requires in 1 Corinthians. Paul describes love in its most perfect form:
“Love is patient, love is kind, it
is not envious. Love does not brag, it is not puffed up. It is not rude, it is
not self-serving, it is not easily angered or resentful. It is not glad about
injustice, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things,
hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never ends. But if there are prophecies, they will be set aside; if there
are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be set aside.” —1
Corinthians 13:4–8
The motivation behind our actions is critical. For instance, we can be obedient to God’s Word—motivated by love—and it is a sweet-smelling sacrifice to the Father as well as an experience of a bit of heaven on earth for us. On the other hand, we can dutifully and laboriously fulfill our call to obedience—as the religious hypocrites of Jesus’ day—and be nauseating in His sight. The motive makes the difference. Remember, we love Him because He first loved us!
Become More
“To love God, to serve Him because we love Him, is … our highest happiness … Love makes all labor light. We serve with enthusiasm where we love with sincerity.” —Hannah More
“Love seeks one thing only: the good of the one loved.” —Thomas Merton
Further Reflections
“God loves you as though you are the only person in the world, and He loves everyone the way He loves you.” —Augustine
“The way to disengage the heart from the love of one object is to fasten it in positive love to another. It is not by exposing the worthlessness of the former, but by addressing the worth and excellence of the latter that all old things are to be done away and all things are to become new. The only way to dispossess the heart of an old affection is by the expulsive power of a new one.” —Thomas Chalmers
“For the love of God is broader than the measures of man’s mind; and the heart of the Eternal is most wonderfully kind.” —Frederick William Faber