Love and the Greatest Commandment: A Practical Guide
Love and the Greatest Commandment: A Practical Guide
In my last post, “Loving God: Unpacking the Greatest Commandment,” I explored a little bit of what loving God looks like. (for more on that, see also “Put God First: A Simple Habit That Changes Everything”) In this post, I’ll explore what loving your neighbor as yourself looks like in practical life.
These two summarizing ideas—loving God above all and your neighbor as yourself — are not new ideas, and they are not my ideas; they are Jesus’ summary of the Law.
34 But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?”
37 Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
—Matthew 22:34-40 NKJV
Jesus masterfully summarized God’s intent for His people. God wants us to be more loving. Life should be guided by love. Our supreme love should be directed towards God, then as we learn about love from Him and receive love from Him, we direct it towards ourselves and our neighbors. Paul understood this, and this is how he expressed this principle.
Love is the fulfillment of the law
8 Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not bear false witness,” “You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
—Romans 13:8-10 NKJV
One point I would like to highlight is the end of verse 8, “he who loves another has fulfilled the law.” I mention this because in my experience with religious people, those most concerned with the law tend to be the least loving. The author of Romans understood that, at the core, the law of God is all about love. Some may reject this as a watered-down gospel, but I would like to challenge the view that love is a watered-down version of the gospel with the words of 1 Corinthians 13.
Love makes all the difference
Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.
— 1Corinthians 13:1-3 NKJV
According to Paul, all the right behavior accomplished apart from love is worthless. Though I believe in self-discipline, industriousness, and perseverance, love is what adds value to my accomplishments. Before other humans, there is value in my accomplishments, but before God, without love, my accomplishments are worthless. A person is able to accomplish great things and achieve great financial and professional success for purely selfish reasons, driven by love of power, money, and control. Such accomplishments have no eternal value. I would argue that someone who accomplishes less, but does it out of love for her sister, accomplishes much more in the eyes of God than someone with greater resources but no love. This reminds me of the story of the widow and the two coins (Mark 12:41-44)
The relationship of all the Old Testament to the double love commandment shows that there is a hierarchy of law that above all requires one’s heart attitude to be correct. If this is absent, obedience to commandments degenerates into mere legalism.
[…]
Jesus’ twofold answer should warn Christians against emphasizing either piety for God or social concern at the expense of the other.
—Craig Blomberg, Matthew, vol. 22, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992), 335, 336
The challenge of talking about love is that we all think we know what love is. Oftentimes, we confuse love with permissiveness. You have probably heard some version of “if you loved me, you would do this for me.” That is manipulation at its finest. Whenever I struggle to identify love, I turn to the bible for guidance. A great place to start is 1 Corinthians 13.
4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part. 10 But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.
11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.
13 And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
—1 Corinthians 13:4-13 NKJV
The Good Samaritan
Jesus himself illustrates what love for our neighbor should look like with a famous parable found in Luke 10:25-37.
25 And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 He said to him, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?”
27 So he answered and said, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’ ”
28 And He said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.”
—Luke 10:25-28 NKJV
Here we have the expert in the law providing the same answer Jesus provided in Matthew 22. Jesus agrees that this is indeed the correct answer. However, the expert in the law is bothered and feels the need to justify himself.
For most Jews a neighbor was another Jew, not a Samaritan or a Gentile. The Pharisees (John 7:49) and the Essenes did not even include all Jews (1QS 1:9–10). The teaching of the latter stands in sharp contrast with that of Jesus. The Essenes taught that one was to love all the children of light who are part of the community but to hate the children of darkness who stand outside the community.
—Robert H. Stein, Luke, vol. 24, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992), 316.
When the word of God makes us uncomfortable, all we have to do is find a creative way to interpret it so that it loses its teeth, and then we can remain comfortable in our sinful and selfish ways. In this case, all I have ot do is identify my neighbor as everyone that I like, all who agree with me are my neighbors. All who look like me are my neighbors. All who share my religion and political views are my neighbors. Surely those who are different from me are not my neighbors. And so we vainly attempt to excuse the hardness of our hearts and shut out the influence of the Holy Spirit over our lives.
That expert in the law, a deeply religious man, asks Jesus another question.
But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
—Luke 10:29 NKJV
The man knew that he was not really doing what God’s law required of him. Now he asks Jesus to clarify, hoping that Jesus’ answer would calm his guilty conscience. Jesus answers by telling a story.
30 Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. 33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’ 36 So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?”
—Luke 10:30-36 NKJV
Jesus does not tell us the ethnicity of the man traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho; how should we know who his neighbor is? Also, the thieves stripped the man of his clothing and beat him half to death. The lack of clothing, difficulty in communication (if at all able), and possible facial disfigurement made it virtually impossible to identify this man as belonging to any specific people groups. So, who is the neighbor of a human being in need?
Practical Application
When you read the biblical text, and in it Jesus tells you to love God supremely and your neighbor as yourself, how do you interpret that? When Jesus illustrates that our neighbor is a human being in need, how do you interpret that?
Do we accept Jesus’ interpretation that those who are different from us are still considered our neighbors? Or do we, like many religious people in the world, define our neighbor as those who are like us?
Between you and God, as you come face to face with these core theological teachings of the entire Bible and especially interpreted and clarified by Jesus, what is your response?
Takeaway
Faith does not have to be complicated. Obedience can be simple and straightforward. Love God, Love others. I am not saying it is easy, but if you want to do the right thing, God will guide you. The Bible points the way and reveals the heart of God. Our part is to not resist the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Don’t search for excuses for your favorite sins. Don’t twist scriptures to justify your hard heart.
Invite Jesus into your heart, pray for the Holy Spirit to guide you in the reading of the Bible, and God will transform your life.
