The Love of God, the Greatest Commandments of the Law!

Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: “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 22:34-40 NIV

The world urges and commands us to be selfish and live perfect lives on the earth, so we tend to think that taking care of ourselves is all we need. One of the reasons for this is that we have very simple mind-set, such as living our lives comfortably as much as possible. Therefore, we do not even bother to think of others. We tend to focus on building our kingdom so much, that we use others for building our own kingdom. Being kind to others is one of the ways that we can live our lives peacefully without having any arguments and fights between others and us. Because we focus on our own kingdom so much and we are simple-minded, we ignore the Spirit of God and every thought that are based on God. We even might acknowledge that we are sinners but we do not do anything about it. This is because we believe that we are going to fall again in the glory of God and then we think that God is going to leave and forsake us. Another example for this might be that we believe that all of us are going to the kingdom of heaven at the end of the age because of our deeds and the steadfast love of God. Furthermore, we try to find everlasting love other than God’s because love is one of our human priorities that is able to satisfy us until the end of the age.

However, the truth is that we are not going to find any love that is everlasting other than God’s and God repeatedly says that He is not going to leave nor forsake us in His Word.. This is because “the Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.” (Psalm 103:8-10) Due to God’s steadfast love over us, God sent His beloved Son, Jesus Christ as an image of Himself (John 1:14; Colossians 1:15), into the world to crucify Himself as an atonement of our sins (1 John 4:9-10). This means that He has already paid our death penalty. In addition to this, He has given us eternal life, instead. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23) The word of God states, “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:6-8) All of us are sinners because we have fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23), due to the fact that we have proclaimed that we are smart who can distinguish between good and evil—just like God—since the first man, that was created by God, had eaten the fruit that was in the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:8-Genesis 3). Falling short of the glory of God is sin because we deny the fact that we are created by God (Genesis 1:27) and that God is working powerfully working within us as the Spirit of God (Ephesians 3:20-21). Because God has already paid our death penalty through Jesus Christ (Colossians 2:13-15) and has given us eternal life through knowing Him (John 17:3), we need to love Him foremost and put Him as the first priority of our lives (Matthew 22:37-38). “For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.” (Colossians 1:16-20)

His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.

Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 1:3-11)

Secondly, sharing the love of God to others is one of the greatest commandments of God (Matthew 22:39; Mark 12:31). This is because the love of God shows us who God really is (1 John 4:11-12) and we have actually been created to be His image (Genesis 1:27). “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.” (Romans 8:29-30) These are probably reasons why sharing the love of God to others is also the law of the Spirit (Romans 13:8-10), as the love of God covers over a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8). Furthermore, Jesus Christ declares, “Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.” (Philippians 2:1-4) God wants all of us to be united with one another—just like Him and Jesus Christ (John 17:20-26)—because we actually are members of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 12:27). “For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” (Romans 12:4-5) The main reason for this is that God wants to reconcile each one of us to Him through Christ’s physical body (Colossians 1:21-22). “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son…” (John 3:16) Because of this, Colossians 3:12-15 states, “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.”  In addition, Galatians 6:2 declares, “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”

If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.

Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. (1 Corinthians 13:1-7)