Love

 

“Jesus said to him, “’Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. The second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.””  Matthew 22:37-39

“’Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.””  Mark 12:30-31

 Love. It’s a much abused word. I love my husband and I love coffee. What does it really mean to Love God and Love Others? Of course, I am going to visit with my old friend, Webster, to see what he has to say about it:

LOVE, verb transitive luv. [Latin libeo, lubeo. See Lief. The sense is probably to be prompt, free, willing, from leaning, advancing, or drawing forward.]

1.       In a general sense to be pleased with; to regard with affection, on account of some qualities which excite pleasing sensations or desire of gratification. We love a friend, on account of some qualities which give us pleasure in his society. We love a man who has done us a favor; in which case, gratitude enters into the composition of our affection. We love our parents and our children, on account of their connection with us, and on account of many qualities which please us. We love to retire to a cool shade in summer. We love a warm room in winter. we love to hear an eloquent advocate. The christian loves his Bible. In short, we love whatever gives us pleasure and delight, whether animal or intellectual; and if our hearts are right, we love God above all things, as the sum of all excellence and all the attributes which can communicate happiness to intelligent beings. In other words, the christian loves God with the love of complacency in his attributes, the love of benevolence towards the interest of his kingdom, and the love of gratitude for favors received. (1)

 When I was in high school, I attended a Bible study for a while that met early, before school, in one of the classrooms. We were visited once by the pastor from the Nazarene church in town who gave me the best definition of love I’ve ever heard, one that has stuck with me for 30 years, “Love is wanting the best for someone else, no matter what that is.” I realized at that point that if I loved my boyfriend (now my husband) that I would want the best for him, even if that wasn’t me. I’m not sure I ever actually got to that point in my heart beyond the intellectual as a teenager, but I’ve certainly seen that play out in my life as I’ve grown both in physical and spiritual maturity. When my children were little, I thought I could not do something that would put my life in jeopardy because they needed me. But did they? What if their best was in having a different mother? Or in their father taking over that role? If I truly loved my children, I would want the best for them, even if that wasn’t me.

 Webster did a good job of looking at love from different relationships and pointing out that, ultimately, the love for God should reign supreme in our hearts. If we love chocolate, or the Seahawks, or sleep more than God, then He is not foremost and we have a problem with idolatry. Love seems to be a drawing toward. I look at my husband sitting across from me and I am drawn to him. Just seeing him brings a smile to my face. My heart longs for closeness with him. I am grateful to him and for him, as Webster pointed out. He has so many qualities that please me: wisdom, patience, concern for others above himself, kindness, a wonderful sense of humor, and he’s just so darn handsome! I start here because it is easier to put into words how I love my husband, whom I can see.

 My love for God is next level. Just thinking about it fills my heart with wonder and joy. It certainly encompasses a sense of gratitude for all He’s done for me, for His thoughts for me, for His plan for me and for those I love. I am filled with wonder at His creativity in designing the universe! I am in awe at how He can hear and see and know all and be outside of space and time. And how, with all that, He would care to come and live inside of me. I am humbled and grateful, and I love Him for it!

 But we are not just to love God and love our husbands, we are to love our neighbors. As I discussed yesterday, our neighbor, or our brother, is whoever God puts in our path. They might literally live next to us, or they might live with us. We might encounter them in the grocery store, or in worship at church. We might walk past them on the sidewalk and be hesitant to look their direction. We might have to deal with them at work and it makes our insides tense up. We are surrounded by our neighbors and we are accountable for how we show love to them.

 This love is not something that necessarily comes naturally to us in and of ourselves, but as we draw closer to God and are filled with love for Him, we begin to love what He loves, and guess what, that means everyone! “For God so loved the world…” (John 3:16). As we embrace loving God, we begin to see that the person sitting next to us on the bus was made in His image, by Him, and for a purpose, just as we were. We can begin to see that God loves other people, and we can start to feel His love for them as well.

Here's the Thing: As we begin to identify with God’s love for our neighbors, we, too, will want the best for them. As this becomes our desire, we do not want to harm them in any way, whether physically or by theft or deceit or anything. As we love God and love our neighbor, it becomes natural to keep the whole law, just as Jesus said.

 (1)    Websters Dictionary 1828 - Webster’s Dictionary 1828 - Love. (n.d.). Websters Dictionary 1828. https://webstersdictionary1828.com/Dictionary/love