On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.

Matthew 22:34-23:12 (NASB) from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

³⁴ But when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered themselves together. ³⁵ One of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, ³⁶ “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” ³⁷ And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the great and foremost commandment. ³⁹ The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ⁴⁰ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”…

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the great and foremost commandment. ³⁹ The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ⁴⁰ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”      If it is true that the whole Law and the Prophets depend on these two commandments, and Jesus Himself is the one who said it is so, then we should be certain that we truly know, understand and apply these to our lives. In order to do that we must first look at what Jesus says is first and foremost. God is a God of order. All of creation is a testimony to the intricate order of God. Entropy is a scientific term which describes the natural tendency of things to progress from order to randomness. This scientific principle flies in the face of man’s theories of evolution and formation of the universe through random sequences of events. By nature things break down, they move from order to randomness. God on the other hand, as we read in Genesis 1:1-3.       In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. ² The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. ³ Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.     Only God creates something from nothing. Only God creates order from disorder. I digress, God is a God of order so it is important that we keep the first and foremost commandment first and foremost. We cannot love others or begin to live up to the other commandments until we do the first.

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.”   1 John 4:19 says:  We love, because He first loved us.     In Romans 3:10-12, Paul quotes the psalmist from Psalm 14, saying:    “There is none righteous, not even one; ¹¹ There is none who understands, There is none who seeks for God;
¹² All have turned aside, together they have become useless; There is none who does good, There is not even one.”     None of us can either seek or love God on our own. We can only love God, we can only keep this first and foremost commandment as a response to God’s love for us. We must receive God’s love in order to love Him at all. Receiving God’s love is not only vital to our ability to love God, it is also the foundation from which we can move on to the second commandment.

“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  Quite often the root of problem with the love people have for others, their neighbor, is that they don’t really love themselves. If we have not received God’s love, an unconditional love, a love that:    while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8), a love that causes God the creator of the universe to call us His beloved child, we cannot love ourselves. Regardless of what front we put forward our conscience knows the evil inside our heart and mind. If we have not received God’s regenerating love and see ourselves as He sees us, pure and righteous in Christ, we will love others with the same impurity that we love ourselves. We will judge others to have the same darkness, evil or lack of trustworthiness as we know is in our own hearts. To love others, to fulfill this second commandment, we must first see ourselves as God sees us. Once again it comes back to: We love, because He first loved us.(1 John 4:19)

Without the love of God we can only love in human terms. Human love is conditional, it is self seeking. In our culture we are taught to look out for self. To do what is best for and what pleases our self. When that is the foundation of love of others, we love only to the extent that it benefits us. The love that comes from God, the love that loves others as self, would cause a mother to give up her own life for her child, as Christ laid down His life for us. The distorted world view of self love causes women to neglect, their children for the sake of self fulfillment. Not having the love of God as the basis of human love can even cause women to abandon, abuse and abort their children for the sake of self satisfaction. Of course it is not only women, men too are unable, without the love of God, to properly love their own wives and children, let alone their neighbors.

As we approach February 14, Valentine’s day, the focus of much of our culture is on love. But is it the true love we are called and commanded to have for others. 1 Corinthians 13 is probably one of the most frequently quoted and reprinted passages of scripture, even by those who otherwise would not give any credence to God’s word.

 If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. ² If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. ³ And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.

⁴ Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, ⁵ does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, ⁶ does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; ⁷bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

⁸ Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. ⁹ For we know in part and we prophesy in part; ¹⁰ but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away. ¹¹ When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. ¹² For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. ¹³ But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.

What the world fails to understand or acknowledge about this passage is that it is not merely a poem or essay about love. Paul, the writer, inspired by the Holy Spirit, is not speaking about human love. When we look at this description of love in context we can better understand what Paul is really writing about. In chapter 12 of 1 Corinthians, Paul is writing about spiritual gifts within the church body. The end of chapter 12, verses 27-31 says:       Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it. ²⁸ And God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, various kinds of tongues. ²⁹ All are not apostles, are they? All are not prophets, are they? All are not teachers, are they? All are not workers of miracles, are they? ³⁰ All do not have gifts of healings, do they? All do not speak with tongues, do they? All do not interpret, do they? ³¹ But earnestly desire the greater gifts. And I show you a still more excellent way. Chapter 14 begins: Pursue love, yet desire earnestly spiritual gifts…    So what Paul is writing about, this often quoted and reprinted, beautiful passage about love is not about human love at all. It is about love that is God given, Holy Spirit enabled and empowered.

Human love cannot measure up to or meet the conditions and qualities of 1 Corinthians 13. The world cannot know and experience true love without the love of and the love for God. While we as believers are called to be an example of God’s love to the world, we can only do it through the power of the Holy Spirit.   Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, ⁵ does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, ⁶ does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; ⁷bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the great and foremost commandment. ³⁹ The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”     If we truly love God with all our heart, soul and mind and id we would truly love our neighbor as our self, we will be patient, kind, not jealous or arrogant, we will not seek our own or take into account wrong suffered, we also though, will not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoice in the truth. Our love will point others to the source of all true love. Out love will tell the truth.  God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.(John 3:16)  Love comes from God. It is demonstrated and given to us through the cross of Christ. Our love for others will always point them toward the cross, the only true source of love.

Thank You heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; Holy Spirit for the love You gave to me and the power You give me to love.     Amen.