Articles
The Greatest Commandment
“Teacher, what is the greatest commandment in the Law?” This familiar question was posed to Jesus in order to test him. His response still stands as one of the simplest yet most profound answers recorded in the Bible. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets” (cf Matthew 22:34-40). The greatest commandment, Jesus says, is to love. The importance of this command is exemplified and taught on every page of God’s holy word. Why is it the greatest, and what does it take for Christians to fulfill these commands?
In light of the fact that the Scriptures were “written for our instruction,” so “we might have hope” (Romans 15:4), we can understand more clearly what Jesus meant when he taught. Summed up, Jesus’ statement points us to the inescapable conclusion that the only way to be pleasing to God always has been and always will be based on love. It is evident that love is the bond that runs through God’s plan from start to finish and holds it all together.
The nature of our love is twofold. It is both toward God and toward man, yet the lines are not easily defined. The two aspects Jesus taught are intertwined; one command being impossible to fulfill without adhering to the other. Jesus’ life was exemplary of what love is to be. In His death, He was satisfying God’s desires as well as serving mankind. “By this we know love, that [Christ] laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers” (1 John 3:16). Here we see the great example of how to “love your neighbor as yourself.” Later, John writes “...if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us” (1 John 4:12). Love for God is love for our neighbor.
Do you love God? Before you jump to answer that question, consider these statements: “whoever loves God must also love his brother” (1 John 4:21); “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments” (1 John 5:3). If you truly love God, it will manifest itself through your love for your brother and your neighbor. If you do indeed love God, you will consider how to bring out the best in others (Hebrews 10:25). You will do less hurting with your words and more healing (Ephesians 4:29-31). You will speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15). You will love your neighbor as yourself.
Love is the greatest commandment because “God is love” (1 John 4:8). If we ever expect to go to heaven, we must shed the views of this world which tell us that love is an internal feeling, and begin putting God’s word into practice everyday by loving our fellow man. “If anyone says, “I love God” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen” (1 John 4:20).
