We run our website the way we wished the whole internet worked: we provide high quality original content with no ads. We are funded solely by your direct support. Please consider supporting this project.
What God Requires
The reason we were created and what we are called to be is summed up in one word: love. The central defining truth of those who follow Jesus is that in Christ God ascribed unsurpassable worth to us, and thus the central defining mark of those who live in love is that they ascribe the same unconditional worth to themselves and all others.
This is what God requires. John put it this way, “This is the message you have heard from the beginning that we should love one another” (1 John 3:11). This is the message! John spoke as if there was no other message.
So too, Jesus said, “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you” (John 15:12). He spoke as though there was no other command because, as a matter of fact, there really isn’t any other command. Every other commandment and every other message is contained in this one.
Hence, after giving us the two inseparable “greatest” commands to love God and our neighbor as ourselves, Jesus added “On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Matt 22:40). Everything in the OT hangs on and is summed up in these two.
Paul said, “The whole law is summed up in a single commandment, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself (Gal 5:14).
The point of all such teachings is that if we truly abide in Christ and love God, ourselves, and our neighbors as ourselves, we will fulfill everything God requires of us. It is virtually impossible to obey this commandment consistently and not fulfill the entire law. This is why Scripture consistently emphasizes that the singular aim of the disciple must be to love.
Paul said, “Above all, clothe yourself with love” (Col 3:14). Christ-like love is something we are commanded to wear. It should envelop us at all times. This command is placed “above all.” Peter agreed when he wrote, “Above all, maintain constant love for one another” (1 Peter 4:8).
There’s nothing, absolutely nothing, that should ever displace the command to love as the first and foremost concern of the disciple—no doctrine, no ethical principle, no personal agenda, and no exceptions.
If our thought word, or deed doesn’t result in ascribing unsurpassable worth to the persons we encounter, it shouldn’t be thought, voiced, or acted on. It’s that simple: love alone must govern each and every encounter in our lives.
—Adapted from Repenting of Religion, pages 48-53
Photo via Visual hunt
Category: General
Tags: Love, Obedience
Topics: Following Jesus
Related Reading
How Judging Blocks Love
What keeps us from fulfilling the law of love that is exemplified by Jesus and laid out in the Scriptures (Matt. 22:39-40; Rom 13:8,10 Gal 5:14)? In a word, we like to pass verdicts. To some extent, we get our sense of worth from attaching worth or detracting worth from others, based on what we…
The Risk of Love & the Source of Evil
On Sunday Greg tweeted the following: Love IS a tremendous risk. But if humans ever concluded the risk was not worth it, we likely become extinct rather quickly. … Yes, love is risky. It costs us everything, and we sometimes get terribly hurt. But it’s this risk that “makes the world go round.” … And…
Living Into the Future
Why didn’t God create a “perfect world”? Here’s Greg’s response to that question. See more at The Work of the People.
A Word About Sharing the Gospel From an Atheist
Jen J over at A Deeper Family wrote a little piece about how she felt convicted after this video was played during a sermon at her church. She makes some good points. Penn Jillette is a famous atheist, and I’m sure he encounters a lot of Christians trying to persuade him to come to God. It’s…
Love OR Judgment – You Can’t Have Both
Image by Morgan Sessions We cannot judge others because it is not our place as humans to function as the center—because God is that center—and judge other people. In addition, we cannot judge others because we ourselves are sinners who deserve judgment. If we don’t want to be judged, Jesus says, we must not judge. The…
The Cruciform Center Part 2: How John’s Gospel Reveals a Cruciform God
In the previous post, we looked at how the Synoptics illustrate the centrality of the cross. While the Gospel of John varies in its structure and language from the Synoptics, the cross remains at the center. This centrality is expressed in a number of different ways. 1. The role that Jesus’ death plays in glorifying…