Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?
Jesus answered the man, who was an expert in the law, by saying, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important commandment. The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40)
This is one of the few questions Jesus answers directly and succinctly. It’s pretty clear, and not many can argue with its validity. Why then is it one of the hardest for us to follow? We define many types and names for love, argue over it in our court systems, write endless poetry and songs about it, and divorce it when it is no longer convenient.
We don’t need more definitions and rules about love. Instead, here are some beautiful thoughts on what it means to show God’s love and greatest commandment. This is the one time I say we should not try to over-think it.
“Gift from the Sea”, Anne Morrow Lindbergh –
“How does one learn this technique of the dance, the joy of living in the moment? Why is it so difficult? What makes us hesitate and stumble? It is fear, I think, that makes one cling to the last moment or clutch greedily to the next. It can only be replaced by love. When the heart is flooded with love, there is no room in it for fear, doubt, or hesitation. Living in the present ebb and flow of the tides – not owning or possessing or demanding, but freely, not looking back or forward in dread, but the present.”
“Crazy Love”, Francis Chan –
“Love sets us free from hate, guilt and fear. When we focus on Christ, this seems more natural. Love is the only thing that can defeat all.”
St. Augustine of Hippo, Christian theologian and philosopher –
“God loves each of us as if there were only one of us.”
Love is the reason God created us, why God cares for us, why we are free to choose, why Christ died for us, and why we can receive eternal life. Love explains everything.
Happy Easter! It is the greatest love story of all time.
