01.06

Another Summary Message of the Law: Be Loving "Teacher, which is the great commandment in
the law? Jesus said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with
all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the
second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments
hang all the Law and the Prophets." (Matthew 22:36-40)"

In His response to the question, Jesus supplies another summary of the message of God's
law: be loving. "Love the Lord your God and love your neighbor." Jesus then revealed that
"On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." Every command in the law of
God is related to one of these two commandments.

"Love the Lord your God." The primary demand of the law is an all-out love relationship
with the Lord God Almighty. God is to be loved "with all your heart, with all your soul,
and with all your mind." From the depths of our being, love is to be flowing out toward
the Lord. In every expression of our personality, love is to be poured out toward God. In
every thought of our minds, love for God is to be the motivation and the content. Any
aspect of life that does not indicate a comprehensive, unrestricted love toward God is in
violation of His law.

"Love your neighbor." The secondary demand of God's law is an unselfish love toward every
other person. We are to love others "as ourselves." Some have wrongly used this phrase to
urge obedience to an imaginary third commandment: "We need to learn to love ourselves"?!
No, Jesus said there are only two commandments here. This second one is a call to give
others the consideration and care that we all have given to ourselves throughout our
lives. Jesus later intensified this second command by saying, "A new commandment I give to
you, that you love one another; as I have loved you…" (John 13:34).

The message of God's law is: be loving. Love God fully. Love others sacrificially.

"Dear Lord God, I bow before You, knowing that You are the God of infinite love. I have come 
to love You, because You first loved me. Yet, my love for You is so feeble in light of what 
You deserve and what You command. O Lord, my love for others is so often diminished by my own 
selfishness. I humbly ask that You would work in me a more profound love for You and a more 
selfless love for others, in Jesus' name, Amen."