The Greatest Commandment

Those of you who have visited the links on the right know that I am a reader of The Phil Files. Recently, Phil's blog has asked for comments on aspects of his Heartlight articles. The following is taken from this week's article entitled The Jesus Vibe: Daily Altar of Grace.

(C)omprehensive and personal love doesn't leave room for compartments. It's expansive and all-inclusive. My love for God demands every fiber of my being! My love for those around me should be as centered and focused on others' needs and wants as my own awareness is focused on my own needs and wants.

Just in case we miss this point, Jesus comes along and makes it even clearer when he says:

"Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to that person; then come and offer your gift" (Matthew 5:23-24 TNIV).

Put in cornbread English, God isn't going to accept anything we offer him — our hearts, our Sunday worship, our offerings, our praise, our hopes, our private prayers, our dreams — if we knowingly remain at odds with a brother or sister in Christ. The two loves in The Jesus Vibe are intricately connected. Loving God and loving each other are not options or choices or degrees of faithfulness: they are the two sides of the same coin. Without both, there is no coin. Without loving our fellow humans, we can't love God.

I agree with Phil that the love of God and the love of neighbor are intertwined. However, saying that without love for our fellow man we cannot love God seems to put the cart before the horse.

When one of the scribes questioned Jesus about the first commandment, Jesus replied, "The most important one is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." (Mark 12:29-31)

These commandments represent the Trickle-Down Theory. It's a poor economic policy but a great, God-given plan for loving others. If we love God wholeheartedly, then we can't help but love what God loves. That includes his entire creation: the planet and every creature on it, especially those created in his image. As we love God more and more the focus of our lives changes from self fulfillment to willing obedience. The more we love God, the more we are willing to deny self and put the interests of others first.

As Phil said, the love of God and love of neighbor are two sides of the same coin. However, love of God is the obverse side, the one that has the chief image and the primary words. It is the greatest commandment, in part, because it enables us to fulfill the second commandment. Passionate, all consuming love of God leads to wholehearted love of others.

May it be so in each of our lives.