Focus 40 – Extreme Love
February 17,
2013
Matthew 22:37-40
Jesus replied, “ ‘You must love
the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This
is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love
your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets
are based on these two commandments.”
At the core of the greatest commandment is love. Love is an essential part of God’s
nature. We are created in love. God sent His Son as a sacrifice because of
love. God loves His people. It should not surprise us that love is an
essential part of our relationship with God and with each other. All of the commandments of God are wrapped in
love. God gives commands out of love for
the good of His dearly loved people. The
only proper response to God’s love is to return that love. If we are to follow God and live a Christian
life, we must love.
Love requires all of us.
Heart, soul, and mind are all bent towards God in love. Love doesn't come in small pieces. It can’t be compartmentalized or broken
down. True love encompasses our entire
being. It will change how we think, how
we feel, and how we act. It changes the
core of who we are and gives us a new identity.
The love God commands us to have doesn't fit neatly into our modern
worlds understanding of love. The love
that we see in the world is often fickle.
It changes with the circumstances.
It can sometimes be more self-centered than other-centered. It is a small and corrupted version of the
true love God has for us and commands us to give. In this command we are invited to discover
what true love looks like. It is a love
that doesn't fade, it doesn't change with the situation, it is focused on
others and returned in kind, and it is big.
This love brings joy and fullness to life.
Love is also essential to how we interact with each
other. This isn't a romantic idea as
much as a human relationship idea. Love
cares about the wellbeing of the people around us. Love sees through outward appearances and
allows us to engage the heart, soul, and mind of another person. Acting in love is never the wrong choice. How much of our identity is tied to
love? Are our hearts open to God and
each other? How essential is love to
life?
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