Greetings!
Someone has said that love may not make the world go around but it makes the trip worthwhile.
Those words perhaps gather up the sentiment of the world that the sweetest and most exhilarating of all emotions and experiences is love. In whatever age or with whatever group of people, it has been the almost universal belief that love is the greatest thing in life, the summum bonum, the virtue par excellence. Consequently volumes upon volumes of poems, songs, plays, novels, and films have been produced about love.
God's Word concurs that love is the greatest virtue (cf. 1 Cor. 13:13), but the love which it elevates as supreme is of a much deeper and more substantive kind than that which the world understands and admires. Jesus declared that agapē love is the supreme divine requirement of men, both in regard to Himself and in regard to other men.
Love for God is the foundation of the Christian life, it is the defining characteristic identifying a true believer. Christians are those who love the one true and living God; the God of the patriarchs; “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 15:6; 2 Cor. 1:3; 11:31; Eph. 1:3; 1 Peter 1:3).
True spiritual and eternal life begins with loving God imperfectly in this life, and culminates in loving Him perfectly in heaven. Love for God is also a universal command, disobedience to which brings divine judgment and everlasting punishment. Hell will be forever populated by those who refused to love God.
I pray you will be challenged, convicted, encouraged, and blessed by today's devotional to the glory of God.
THE TWO GREAT COMMANDMENTS
MATTHEW 22:34-40
Part 2 of 2
THE SECOND GREAT COMMANDMENT
Matthew 22:39-40 (NASB)
"The second is like it, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.' "On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets."
After stating the first and greatest commandment, Jesus did the Pharisees one better and added "the second" as well: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Not surprisingly the "second" greatest commandment involves the same virtue as the first, namely, "love." The command for genuine love of God, Jesus declared, is next followed in importance by the command for a "love [of] your neighbor" that is of the same order as the "love" you already have for "yourself."
Just as the Pharisees had no genuine love for God, neither did they have genuine love even for their Jewish "neighbor," not to mention their Gentile "neighbor." Instead, as Jesus reminded the multitudes a short while later, the scribes and Pharisees,
- Matthew 23:4 (NASB)
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"Tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger."
Like the mercenary Sadducees who extorted the Temple worshipers in the selling of sacrifices and exchanging of money, the scribes and Pharisees also abused and made religious merchandise of their fellow Jews.
Genuine love for one's "neighbor" is of the same kind as genuine love for God. It is by choice purposeful, intentional, and active, not merely sentimental and emotional. And it is measured, Jesus said, by your love for "yourself." When a person is hungry, he feeds himself; when he is thirsty; he gets himself a drink; and when he is sick, he takes medicine or sees a doctor—all because he is so consumed with caring for himself. He does not simply think or talk about food or water or medicine but does whatever is necessary to provide those things for himself. A person never simply says to himself, "Go in peace, be warmed and be filled," without doing anything to secure his needed clothing and food. James declares,
- James 2:15-16 (NLT2)
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Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, 16 and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?
Contrary to some contemporary interpretations of this passage, Jesus was not commanding that a person love himself but assumed he already does love himself. Paul states,
- Ephesians 5:29 (AMP)
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For no man ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and carefully protects and cherishes it, as Christ does the church,
And just as a person looks out for his own welfare, both by the legitimacy of natural design as well as because of sinful selfishness, he will also look out for the welfare of others if he truly loves them.
Compare:
- Philippians 2:2-5 (NASB)
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Make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. 3 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; 4 do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. 5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus.
- Philippians 2:2-5 (AMP)
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Fill up and complete my joy by living in harmony and being of the same mind and one in purpose, having the same love, being in full accord and of one harmonious mind and intention. 3 Do nothing from factional motives [through contentiousness, strife, selfishness, or for unworthy ends] or prompted by conceit and empty arrogance. Instead, in the true spirit of humility (lowliness of mind) let each regard the others as better than and superior to himself [thinking more highly of one another than you do of yourselves]. 4 Let each of you esteem and look upon and be concerned for not [merely] his own interests, but also each for the interests of others. 5 Let this same attitude and purpose and [humble] mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus: [Let Him be your example in humility:]
The basic requirements both of Judaism and of Christianity are summed up in the same dual command: to love God and to love one's fellow man.
Jesus said, "On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets." Everything else in the Old Testament that God required of believers hung on those two commands. Likewise, every New Testament requirement of believers is based on them.
John declares;
- 1 John 4:7-8 (NASB)
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Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
Paul says,
- Romans 13:8-10 (NASB)
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Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. 9 For this, "YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, YOU SHALL NOT MURDER, YOU SHALL NOT STEAL,YOU SHALL NOT COVET," and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, "YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF." 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
- Romans 13:8-10 (AMP)
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Keep out of debt and owe no man anything, except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor [who practices loving others] has fulfilled the Law [relating to one's fellowmen, meeting all its requirements]. 9 The commandments, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not kill, You shall not steal, You shall not covet (have an evil desire), and any other commandment, are summed up in the single command, You shall love your neighbor as [you do] yourself. 10 Love does no wrong to one's neighbor [it never hurts anybody]. Therefore love meets all the requirements and is the fulfilling of the Law.
- Romans 13:8-10 (NLT2)
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Owe nothing to anyone—except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God’s law. 9 For the commandments say, “You must not commit adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal. You must not covet.” These—and other such commandments—are summed up in this one commandment: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God’s law.
If people loved perfectly there would be no need for law because the person who loves others will never do them harm. In the same way, the believer who loves God with all his being will never take His name in vain, will never worship idols, and will never fail to obey, worship, honor, and glorify Him as Lord.
The lawyer was favorably and no doubt surprisingly, impressed by Jesus' answer. "Right, Teacher," he said; "'You have truly stated that... to love Him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as himself, is much more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.' And when Jesus saw that he had answered intelligently, He said to him,
'You are not far from the kingdom of God'"
Mark 12:32-34
Proverbs 22:19 (NASB)
So that your trust may be in the LORD, I have taught you today, even you.
Amen.
