Love – The Greatest Command
‘Two powerful commands: Love God, Love your neighbor, not love yourself’ – Zech Prince
Verses:
“Teacher, which [is] the great command in the Law?’
And Jesus said to him, ‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thine understanding —
this is a first and great command;
and the second [is] like to it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself;
on these — the two commands — all the law and the prophets do hang.’” (Matthew 22:36 – 40, YLT)
Christ further reveals the previously ‘missing’ command in Love, namely, “love your enemies” in verses below:
“Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” – Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 5:43 – 45, KJV)
What’s the “Scriptural logic” of it?
“For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?” – Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 5:46 – 47, KJV)
What’s the aim of such Love?
“Perfection” as the (next) conclusion verse clearly states:
“Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” – Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 5:48, KJV)
“And above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.” (Colossians 3:14, KJV 2000)
Thus because God’s Love is Perfect, He Will Certainly “save the world” (1 John 4:14, John 1:29, 1 John 2:2) and “reconcile all created things back to Himself” (Colossians 1:20, Colossians 1:16) setting “all creation free from the decay (sin & its effects), Romans 8:20 – 21” making “all things new” (Revelation 21:5) eventually (Hebrews 2:8).
Indeed, ‘the ministry of reconciliation’ (2 Corinthians 5:18), we ought to ‘preach it too’ (1 Timothy 4:9 – 11)
“how that God was in Christ — a world reconciling to Himself, not reckoning to them their trespasses; and having put in us the word of the reconciliation,” (2 Corinthians 5:19, NASB)
Loving Way Out – How can she be forgiven so easily?
“I tell you…” – Lord Jesus Christ, please consider the Beautiful verse below regarding ‘Love and forgiveness’:
“For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.” – Lord Jesus Christ (Luke 7:47, NASB)
Yes, apostle Peter re-iterates this Beautiful Truth of Christ’s Forgiveness (“I tell you” – above) as follows too:
“Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.” – apostle Peter (1 Peter 4:8, NASB)
That’s why apostle Paul also exhorted us to put ‘Love’ into ‘all that we do’:
“Let all that you do be done in love.” – apostle Paul (1 Corinthians 16:14, NASB)
“But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.” – apostle Paul (1 Corinthians 13:13, NASB)
“The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” – apostle John (1 John 4:8, NASB)
P/S:
Even the greatest good deed or even martyrdom (‘give one’s body to be burned’) means ‘nothing’ if it is ‘not done in Love’ as the verse below reveals ‘deeply’:
“And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.” – apostle Paul (1 Corinthians 13:3, NASB)
‘Love is both the act and the intent hence, it must be in action & in truth beyond words’ – Anonymous
“Little children, we should love not in word, nor in tongue, but in action and in truth.” – apostle John (1 John 3:18, BLB)
Yes, God Will certainly Do it All through Christ!
“For the kingdom of God does not consist in words but in power.” – apostle Paul (1 Corinthians 4:20, NASB)
Blessed Saviour of the World!
