The Greatest Commandment
The obedience-obsessed Pharisees asked Jesus, “What is the greatest commandment of all?” Jesus answered, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength, and the second is like…thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandments greater than these.”
And a certain scribe said unto him, “Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God, and to love him and love his neighbor as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, “Thou art not far from the Kingdom of God.” This man’s understanding of the preeminence of love liberated him from the world of performances and observances where his companions remained.
I sometimes wonder if we focus more on the "whole burnt offerings and sacrifices" of today...the performances and observances we are told are required for entrance into the kingdom of heaven than we do on this simple yet all-encompassing commandment taught by the Master himself.
The Apostle Paul tells us that “all things will pass away, except charity.” Charity is the one thing that endures forever. Why? Unlike other virtues, love has no limit. Justice, limitlessly expressed, excludes mercy. Too much temperance becomes a fussy puritanism. Exaggerated courage is rashness. Unlimited faith can lead to credulity. Infinite hope devolves into presumption. But there can never be too much love and there is never a time when love is inappropriate. In heaven, there is no need for faith, and hope and knowledge fade away. But in that supremely holy place, love remains in all of its infinite intensity, where it will work forever to heal, bless, support and sustain.
Like the scribe who bore testimony to Jesus, we will never be far from the Kingdom of God when we choose to respond to every person in our path with love, for that is how we become like Him, for of all that He is, He is Love first.
TestifyofChrist
April-2021
