Matthew 22
Over the last several months, as a church we have spent a great deal of time focusing on the second commandment, to love your neighbor as yourself. One thought to remember is that it is the second commandment. The first commandment is to love God. All the rest of our lives, including loving our neighbor is based on our love of God.
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What profound meaning comes through that one verse! In 1 John 4:20, it says that "If someone says, 'I love God,' and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen." Jesus gives no place for hate but only for love - whether it's between cultures, races or politicial parties. What if we all really lived this scripture??
ReplyDeleteWhat profound meaning comes in that very first commandment! Jesus gives no place for hate but only for love - between cultures, races or political parties. This is very clear in 1 John 4:20: "If someone says, 'I love God,'and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen." What if we all REALLY lived that scripture??
ReplyDeleteI think we can show our love to God when we love our neighbors. I am reminded of Matthew 25:40-"Truly I say to you, as you did to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me." I think in Matthew 22, Jesus is telling the Pharisees that you can't do one without the other-you can't love God if you don't love your neighbor. The verses mentioned by Ken, Pat, and myself all resonate that common theme that showing love to your neighbor is showing love to God. I think if we really, truly lived these scriptures the world would be a much different place. I wonder if there would be the poverty and need that is so prevalent today.
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