“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.’”- Matthew 22:34-39
The Pharisees had found 613 commandments in scripture, which at that time was only what we know as the Old Testament. In an attempt to put Jesus on the spot, they asked him which one was the greatest and most important commandment.
The first is to love Almighty Jehovah God with every fiber of our being. Our love for God is to be of paramount importance in our lives. We are to involve him in every solitary aspect of our lives, for he knows everything anyway, why not tap into his great wisdom for direction and guidance.
The second is to love our neighbor as ourselves. “How much we love ourselves is not the standard by which Christ is calling us to love others. Rather, we are called to love our neighbor as being of the same nature as we ourselves are, as being created in God's image and likeness just as we are.” [1]
Loving God with all your being and your neighbor as yourself is the core of the Christian ethics. Everything in the law and from the prophet’s hinges on those two commandments. Leviticus 19:18 (NIV) echoes the sentiment of loving your neighbor: “Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.”While we may not love the actions of others at times, we are to love the individual. Think of God’s love for you. Did he ever stop loving you because of something you said or did? No, he did not. So how audacious would it be of us to turn our back on someone and stop loving them for the same reason? It may not be easy at times, but we are commanded to love one another in the body AND our neighbor as well. To me that means those outside the faith. We don’t have to agree with someone to love them with Christ’s love. We must pray for those we may be at odds with, while praying for ourselves as well that we may not become haughty and self-pleasing. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.
Richard Keller
Bread of Life Ministries
[1] The Orthodox Study Bible; Copyright © 2008 by St. Athanasius Academy of Orthodox Theology.
Resources: NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible; Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan; MacArthur Study Bible, 2nd Edition
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