The Law of Love (The Ten Commandments)
Love is an unequivocal command for the Christian,but love most be exercised on two different levels: love for God and love for people. It is important to understand that these two loves are not the same. Jesus differentiated between them in response to the question,"What is the greatest commandment?" He replied,"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments"(Matt. 22:37-40).
Our entire moral duty is summarized in these interwoven,two-directional commandments. Vertically,we are to love God with our whole lives. Horizontally,we are to love others as we love ourselves.
The Ten Commandments in Exodus 20 are organized into two directions of love. It is common to affirm that the first four commandments express the boundaries of our vertical love for God:
You shall have no other gods before me.
You shall not worship idols.
You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God.
Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.
Accordingly,the next six commandments express the boundaries of our horizonal love for others:
Honor your father and mother.
You shall not murder.
You shall not steal.
You shall not give false testimony.
You shall not covet.
The Ten Commandments spell out in greater detail what the two great commandments of Jesus summerize. Love for God implies obedience to the first four commandments. Love for people implies obedience to the last six commandments.
Notice that the first of the two great commandments of Christ has priority over the second. We are to love God with all our heart,soul,and mind-everything we are. We are to love others as we love ourselves. Do you see a difference? We are not to love people the way we love God. That would be blasphemous. Nor are we to love God the way we love people. God is to be loved "supremely"; people are to loved finitely.
God is absolute,ulitimate,and infinite,and as such He demands ultimate love. People are only finite creatures made in the image of the infinite God,so our love for people is limited. This is not to say that our love should not be complete or of a high quality (John 13:34) but that it is limited. In heaven our need for health,happiness,and growth will be completely filled in Christ's presence. We won't need the protection and provision of others,because Christ will be everything we need. But we will still enjoy the love and fellowship of one another.
So the Christian's love imperative is clearly segmented. We have two objects of love,and each is to be loved in a different way. To love God-to will His good-means to acknowledge His ultimate and supreme worth in all we think,say,and do. This is why Scripture calls us to worship God (worship was originally termed worthship). But no person should be the object of our worship as God is. That's idolatry. To love people-to will their good-means to recognize their value as persons created in God's image and treat them accordingly. The two levels of love are distinct and different.
How then are we to relate to the world God created for our use? God gave us animals,plants,and minerals to sustain life and to use in serving Him and others. God spoke the universe into existence and pronounced it "good"(Gen. 1:31). God's world is to be admired,enjoyed,cherished,protected,and utilized for our pleasure and His glory.
We say we love the sight of a snowcapped mountain,a radiant sunset,a soaring hawk,a majestic cathedral,a playful kitten. But the material universe is not to be loved in the same way that we love God or people.
To be continued...
Comments (4)
I like to just simply think its enough to be good.
Will God have more Love for a Priest who gives what he can afford.
or a sinner ignorant of a Higher power who gives what he can not.
Im just considering the Lily
*Careful, this is a trick question.
How are you my friend. In regards,to your question the problem is,is that Bible says that none are good. For all have sinned and fallen short of God's perfect standard of righteous(Romans 3:23),and therefore,deserve death(eternal separation from God)(Romans 6:23).
However, the good news of the Bible, is that Jesus Christ lived the perfect life which we could never live,then he suffered and died to pay the debt we could not pay, and in place of our sin he offers us his (perfect)righteousness as an absolutely free gift,so that we can go to heaven(2 Cor.5:24).
There is no one that is so bad that God can't forgive them,and no one so good, that they don't need His forgiveness.
God bless!
Calliopesgirl
Thanks! I'm glad to see you!
Mia
It is true what you say. It takes supernatural love to love your enemies,for it's natural for us to want to do the opposite. However, Christ was the perfect example of His own teaching, when He prayed for His enemies that crucified Him on the cross. That supernatual love is the fruit of the Spirit,that fills us,as we become more and more like Christ(Gal. 5:22).
God bless,sister!
Chame1eon
Hello seeker of Romance.