"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." (Matthew 22:36-40 NIV)
Jesus said that the greatest command God has ever given us is the command to love. Loving God and people is so important that all of the Law and the Prophets (teachings and commands of the Old Testament) hang on these two commands. This is why we call it "The Great Commandment."
"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." (John 13:34-35 NIV)
Jesus also said that love is so important that we will be identified as his followers by our love. There's an old hymn that states, "They will know we are Christians by our love, by our love." I had a friend who would start singing it whenever we would start to get a little hot under the collar over some issue in church. It was a great reminder of Christ's command. We should be identified by our love.
We love because he first loved us. Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister. (1 John 4:19-21 NIV)
Loving those closest to us can sometimes be the most difficult. Whether it is a spouse, a child, a parent, or someone in your Bible study or ministry team in the church, the people closest to us seem to know how to push our buttons and test our patience.
Love, though, is patient. Love is kind. Love removes envy so we can enjoy time with someone who has more than we do. Love removes boasting so we can enjoy good relationships with someone who has less than we do. Love removes jealousy so we can enjoy a great relationship with our spouse. Love removes pride so we don't think we are better than anyone else. Love is not something we fall into. Love is something we fight for with everything we have. "Love is not a feeling, it's an act of your will" (Don Francisco).
The commandments, "You shall not commit adultery," "You shall not murder," "You shall not steal," "You shall not covet," and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: "Love your neighbor as yourself." Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. (Romans 13:9-10 NIV)
God doesn't just command us to love those closest to us or those in the church. It takes a bigger perspective to love our neighbor as ourselves. Remember when Jesus was asked the question, "Who is our neighbor?" Jesus responded with the parable of the good Samaritan. The hero of the story was the one who helped someone in need. Jesus tells us to go and do likewise.
"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:43-48 NIV)
Perhaps the most difficult battle is the one we fight to love our enemies. They do nothing for us. In fact, they work against us. We are taught to fight our enemies and stand up for ourselves. This protects us from harm. Jesus turns this thought upside down when he commands us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. That's exactly what Jesus did when we were his enemies. That's why he went to the cross. Sin sets us up as God's enemy, but God saw us as His children made in His image and loved us. Now it's up to us to do the same.
The purpose of my instruction is that all believers would be filled with love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and genuine faith. But some people have missed this whole point. They have turned away from these things and spend their time in meaningless discussions. (1 Timothy 1:5-6 NLT)
Love is a purposeful choice we make every moment of every day. When we choose to walk by the Spirit, we choose to be filled with love.
How about you? Do you live a life of love?
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