Tag Archives: Love your neighbor

Just One

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If you had to pick just one rule to live by, one rule to teach your kids, which one would you choose?  Jesus picked this one:

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. This is the great and first commandment.  (Matthew 22:37-38)

God is not emotionally needy; He is not hurt or impoverished by our failure to love Him.  So what’s the deal?  Why is this the most important one?  Let’s start with this: If we could truly wrap our minds around the reality that we have personally been created by an infinitely superior Being, Who designed and created the universe, Who knows us, cares for us and loves us, if we could hold that truth present in our consciousness, our natural response would be wholehearted love for Him.  Anything less would be petulant rebellion.  

Presumably, as we obey the command to love God with our all, it has the effect of bringing us closer to the full realization of Who He is and how He loves us.  Aligned with that truth, we are more in tune with the rest of His design.

But how would such love be expressed?  A Hallmark moment wouldn’t suffice. As we are drawn into a closer relationship of love with God, it spills over and is naturally expressed in our love for others.  That is why Jesus added this:

And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”  (Matthew 22:39-40)

Simply put, if you could truly obey the first command, you would find yourself obeying the second, and would not need to worry about all the others.  

The Most Valuable Like

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How much is a “like” worth online?  That question would not have made any sense 15 years ago, but now you know what it means!  Google it: You’ll see various estimates, ranging from 21 cents per “like” to $214!  But the most valuable “like” is the one in the middle of this quote from Jesus:

“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 22:37-40)

Jesus had been asked for the greatest commandment in Scripture.  He responded with two (See: Keep it Simple).  He said the two commands were LIKE each other.  But He didn’t mean simply that they were similar.  He meant they corresponded to one another, that they were connected at the hip.  You can’t obey one without following the other and vice versa.  The two commands were really one, connected with the word, like.

Here’s how they work together: Jesus said that when we offer a simple kindness to someone in need – even a glass of water –  “… I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’” (Matthew 25:40b)   Your love for your neighbor is connected to and is an expression of your love for God, for Jesus.  That is how He receives it.  The first command is LIKE the second.

This connection flows in reverse as well.  Jesus taught us to pray,

“Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” (Matthew 6:12)

And then He made the connection clear between our treatment of those who need forgiveness and God’s treatment of us:

“For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” (Matthew 6:14-15)

Our love for The Father is connected to our love for our neighbor.  The two loves correspond to one another, they are like each other.  And, because our love for God is a dynamic relationship; it flows both ways, as we give and receive.  Because we love God, we give love to our neighbor and are able to receive love from God.  This interactive “dance” with God, lived out in relationship with the people in our lives, is how we keep this combined commandment.  It begins with an attitude of deep love and respect, not grudging obedience.

As we fully understand this word, LIKE, and grasp how it connects the two commands into one, it becomes the most powerful and valuable “like.”

Quotes: The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Keep it Simple

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What’s the most important rule in the Constitution?  What is the most important amendment?  What’s the most important law in the I.R.S. code?  How about the laws in your state: what one is the most important?  Or your city?  Those questions are almost impossibly tough to answer because there are so many laws and the issue of which is most important may seem like it depends upon who is asking and answering.  Supreme Court justices would probably have a hard time answering quickly or definitively.

And yet, when someone asked Jesus what is the greatest commandment in the whole Old Testament, He was ready with a specific answer, an answer that is profound in its simplicity.  It’s an answer that still “works.”

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 22:37-40)

Jesus pulled out two separate laws, one from Leviticus and one from Deuteronomy.  The first one is pretty prominent and was commonly memorized.  But the other one, about loving your neighbor, is included in a list of miscellaneous commands.  But by singling out these two commands, Jesus captured the essence of what God wants for us – a deep love for God, a genuine love for the other guy.  One law focuses our attention in a vertical direction.  The other is applied horizontally.  Like the shape of the cross…

Maybe you have been puzzled by all the “thou shalts” and “begats” of the Bible.  Maybe you have wondered if this ancient book can possibly apply in this age of smartphones, 3D printers and drones.  Maybe you have tried to live by the 10 commandments or the Sermon on the Mount and have given up in discouragement.  If that’s you, then try this: live by just those 2 commands, applying them to your life, your thoughts and attitudes, according to your own level of understanding.

You will be surprised. Pleasantly.

Quotes: The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.