Love: The Greatest Commandment
Matthew 22: 36-40
"'Master, which is the greatest commandment of the law.'"
"Jesus said until him, "Thou shalt Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the FIRST and Greatest commandment. And the second is like unto it, thou shalt Love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."
Main Idea: God's Greatest Gift to Us, as well as his greatest directive for us is the call to love. To Love God with all of our mind, soul and spirit and love our neighbors as we Love ourselves. The Bible repeatedly mentions Love in both the OT and the NT and it is amongst the most consistent themes within the word. I would like to dive into this directive of love in more depth. Specifically, who we are to love, how we are to love and what are both the obstacles and tools that the Lord provides us to overcome these obstacles.
*Who, in this room, took the time this week to wash some feet. Ok, I understand that finding some feet to wash could be challenging, and I think you understand what I am communicating here. We often hear that Jesus washed feet. But have you taken the time to look at your feet lately. Mine are nothing pretty.
This is the standard of service, the standard of humility, the standard of love that we are called to.
While researching this topic, I began to talk to people about love, how they give, how they receive it, etc. It was amazing to hear the stories of how love is interpreted, experienced, offered or refused. For many, the idea of unconditional love, is a myth. A fool's errand. This can be regardless of whether or not they hold a belief in God. One person told me that “Unconditional Love, under almost all circumstances, was a lie.
On the other hand, a woman who works at my job, brings me coffee and pastries everyday, just because she knows that I’m tired by the end of my shift. She has no obligation to do this. She receives nothing from it. I have nothing to offer her. She shared with me her experience of offering housing, overnight to a homeless family. An act which many of us would consider dangerous while some others of us, even in this room, I know have committed. This woman took a major risk, showed fearlessness and trust. She is a Christian, and while it is a part of the point, is not the whole point, because she wasn’t even saved at that time.
The impetus to serve the poor, the sick, the young, the elderly, our families, our communities...what is our motivation. What is our fuel. Even more specifically, what is our instruction and model as the word reveals, and Jesus Christ reveals...that’s what I’m preaching about today...how important is love..
I want to acknowledge that this is work that I am doing, and will continue to do, God Willing throughout my life. So all that God has blessed me to share with you today, I am painfully and glorious aware applies in my own life. That said….
How important is LOVE:
To begin with, God is Love. 1 John 4:8-"He that loveth not knoweth not God, for God is love."
Loving God, and thyself and thy neighbor was among the most salient priorities of the early law.
Leviticus:19:18 Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt Love thy Neighbor as thyself: I am the Lord
The very offer of God's son, the transition from the law into Grace, was a stated expression of love.
John 3:16 "For God so Loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son.”
And when that Son was asked what the greatest commandment was, he directed us back to the First and the second commandment, tying together the Old Testament law, the transition into the New Testament and the direction of the Gospel."
Matthew 22: 36-40
"'Master, which is the greatest commandment of the law.'"
"Jesus said to him, "Thou shalt Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the FIRST and Greatest commandment." So the first and the greatest commandment, given by the source of All Love, which in truth is love itself, who, spoken by an offering of love, and who by extension was also love itself, was to RETURN that love with all of being, every fiber of our available existence.
"And the second is like unto it, thou shalt Love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." -It is important to consider the ramifications of this last statements. Because it encourages us to see the acts of the prophets, the purpose of the Law, the motivation of God's direction for our lives, and the glue that binds us to God, to each other as his body, and to the world as brothers and sisters, VERY CLEARLY AS LOVE.
Paul reiterates the importance of love on several occasions, but reiterates this specific sentiment in Galatians 5:14: For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one commad: "Love your neighbor as yourself."
So, then WHO are we to Love:
"Hate cannot drive out hate. Only love can do that." -Martin Luther King Junior
Some of this is already clearly stated. We are to Love God, love ourselves, and Love our neighbors. We are also to love the body of Christ, love our families and friends, and EVEN, yes...that's right. OUR ENEMIES. Everybody knows that line. Everybody hates that line. But let's review it anyway.
Matthew 5: 44-45 KJV
"Love your enemies,
bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which 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 the good, and sendeth rain on the just and unjust."
So, what is Jesus really telling us here. We family. And not only are we family...but we in the family business. Can I get an amen. So the family business, is taking care of all, indiscriminately. Jesus didn't say, God makes the sun shine on that doode up the street you hate, or that lady at your job who gets on your nerves. Just because we don't like them, doesn't make them evil. Just because they're annoying, or YOU'RE ANNOYING, can I get an Amen, doesn't make them evil. I'm trying to talk to you right now.
God is going to give ALL of those beings, the same LOVE that he OFFERS. AND since you are HIS CHILD, and since you are not a part of the FAMILY business, that is now you're job as well. Now, you can't make it rain. Not like that anyway…but what you can do, is what you can do, and even more so what the spirit empowers you to do when you follow those first and second commandments and so as God has called you to do, AMEN!.
John 13: 34-35
34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
II John 1:5-6
And now I beseech the lady, not as though I wrote a New commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another, ye should walk in it. And this love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it.
How are we to love:
Erich Fromm. 215 likes. “Love means to commit oneself without guarantee, to give oneself completely in the hope that our love will produce love in the loved person. Love is an act of faith, and whoever is of little faith is also of little love.” ― Erich Fromm
1 Corinthians 3:4-8
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.
Hannah Fry is a Mathemeticans who recently wrote a book called the Mathematics of Love. In this book, she talks about the equation, yes equation that acts as a predictor for a successful relationship.
Hannah Fry: “Every relationship will have conflict, but most psychologists now agree that the way couples argue can differ substantially, and can work as a useful predictor of longer-term happiness within a couple.
In relationships where both partners consider themselves as happy, bad behavior is dismissed as unusual: “He’s under a lot of stress at the moment,” or “No wonder she’s grumpy, she hasn’t had a lot of sleep lately.” Couples in this enviable state will have a deep-seated positive view of their partner, which is only reinforced by any positive behavior: “These flowers are lovely. He’s always so nice to me,” or “She’s just such a nice person, no wonder she did that.”
In negative relationships, however, the situation is reversed. Bad behavior is considered the norm: “He’s always like that,” or “Yet again again showing how selfish she is.” Instead it’s the positive behavior that is considered unusual: “He’s only showing off because he got a pay raise at work. It won’t last,” or “Typical. She’s doing this because she wants something.”
Luke 10:27-"Love the Lord God with ALL your heart, and with ALL your SOUL and with all YOUR STRENGTH and with ALL your MIND."
How many people in here have seen the Movie Deadpool. The production company responsible for that movie is called 'Maximum Effort." And one of the things that Deadpool is known for is breaking the fourth wall. So in this movie Deadpool, when doing some remarkable things, in a 4th wall breaking cry, will yell out, 'MAXIMUM EFFORT.' That is how Jesus is calling us to Love. He is calling us to Love with a 'MAXIMUM EFFORT." Not What you can spare. AMEN. Not, What I'm able to do that this time. That's not what he said. He said ALL OF YOU. EVERYTHING YOU GOT. That's what are to give to our God, to ourselves (again, in a healthy way) and to our neighbor.
What are the obstacles to this love and how do we overcome these obstacles-Hint the answer is the Holy Spirit (The Helper-without which this would be impossible)
“To love, without knowing how to love, wounds the other person.” Thich Nhat Hahn
While we can have an entire conversation about the many potential obstacles to love, in today's conversation I only want to focus on three.
1. The Flesh
2. Selfishness
3. Fear
Now, one could very easily make an argument that all three of these are the same, or at least connected to one another, but for the time being I want to look at each of them individually in relationship to love.
“Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak!"-Matthew 26:41
What is the flesh:
The Self-The Physical, Carnal Self. The part of us that is not spirit, and by extension is alienated from God.
Paul talks about passions….we can be passionate about a lot of things that ain't God….we can be passionate about our ego's, about food, about alchohol and drugs, about sex, about revenge and anger...so there are many ways that the passions of the flesh can manifest themselves.
Eloquently addresses the distinction between the flesh and the spirit in Galatians 5:16-23:
16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever[a]you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery;20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
So we see that the flesh is one obstacle to love.
What about selfishness:
"Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others." (Philippans 2:3-4)
We just saw the connection that selfishness has to the flesh, but it's worth looking at this on it's own as we can see that this description of selfishness directly contradicts Paul's description of Love found in Corinthians. Beloved, quite simply, one cannot be selfish and selfless at the same time. That is the quintessential serving two masters and as they say, "A man who represents himself in court has a fool for a client."
And by extension...being selfish and self centered as opposed to being selfless and God Centered. Distinguish between loving yourself and being a lover of yourself (pride)
And finally, what about fear. For that, we will look to 1 John, 4:16-18
And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love." ~ 1 John 4:16-18
Again, these are just SOME of the obstacles to love, but these are key obstacles, important enough to be REPEATED thematically throughout the bible as things we are to overcome as believers and slaves to Christ.
So what is the point?
The point is that for the life of the follower of Christ, Love is not something we passively experience or wistfully romanticize about. It is the highest, most serious, most well laid foundation for the work we are to do on this planet as followers of Christ and children of God.
"If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing." ~ 1 Corinthians 13:1-3
"Do everything in love." ~ 1 Corinthians 16:14
A Partial List of ways we 'love one another' from "The Love Revolution":
Watch over one another
Pray for one another
Be mindful to be a blessing
Look for Kindnesses we can express to others
Be Friendly and Hospitable
Be Patient with One Another
Bear with other's Faults and Weaknesses
Give Others the Benefit of the Doubt
Forgive one another
Comfort One Another
Be Faithful
Be Loyal
Build Up One Another
Encourage each other, reminding folks of their strengths when they feel weak
Be happy for people when they are blessed
Let someone go ahead of us or give them the best of something
Consider one another
Keep people's secrets and don't tell their faults
Believe the best of one another
Today I implore us all, in a word that so desperately needs it, in lives that so desperately need it, to take our love further, and deeper than we ever have. I encourage us to lean towards God, to call upon the power of the Holy Spirit to wash over us, and to bear that powerful fruit that is love. I ask that we CHOOSE to Love, that we engage love as a DECISION, as a VERB, as a LIFESTYLE, as a CALLING, as SKILL, as an ART, not as something that we wait on, or that we feel when we feel like it, or that we make conditional. GOD DID NOT make it conditional for us. GOD LOVES US REGARDLESS. AND WE ARE CALLED, as HIS CHILDREN, to LOVE the JUST AND THE UNJUST, the GOOD AND THE EVIL ALIKE. Now, that is a mighty task, and Progress not perfection is cannot be overstated her. But the Bible is clear. Jesus is Clear. God is clear. LOVE, is our highest calling, the greatest commandment, a gift from ur Lord and Savior, and overwhelming power that the Holy Spirit is just itching to offer through you.
