LOVE? WHAT'S THE POINT? *

(Mark 12:28-34)

A Jewish teacher of the law once questioned Jesus, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?" We get this to mean as -- "Which is the most important commandment among all the laws that God had given man?”

A Jew would most probably presume that Jesus would pick one of the 10 commandments which God had written with His own hands on the stone tablets He gave to Moses. Surely those 10 commandments were the best known.

But let us read Jesus' answer in Mk 12:29-31.

"The most important one", Jesus answered,"is this: `Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: `Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." (NIV)

Jesus' answer was none of the 10 commandments. Jesus' answer was first, "Love God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, with all your strength", which is taken from the book of Deuteronomy. This was understood to be part of the implementing guidelines for the 10 commandments. The second part of the answer was, "Love your neighbor as yourself", taken from the book of Leviticus and which was also an implementing guideline for the 10 commandments.

In a parallel account in Matthew, Jesus added, "On these two commands hang the whole law and all the prophets". Actually, these two commands would summarize all of the ten commandments. The first four commandments could be summarized as, "Love God with all your heart .…….." The rest of the commandments could be summarized as, "Love your neighbor as you would yourself".

Now how do we apply these two commands into our lives? Let us take another look at this so that we might have a better understanding.

Very plainly, to love is to delight in the object of one’s love; to take great joy and great pleasure at the one that we love.

Let's take for example a nursing mother. No matter how tired the mother would be, no matter how hard up her life might be, she would submit her breast to this baby so it may suck milk. She would endure all her pains and hardships with no complaints and still gaze at that breastfeeding baby with so much affection, with so much inner joy, and with so much love.

This is the same way God delights in the objects of His love, most specifically those whom He calls His children, those who give their lives to God, those who trust and obey Him. Still, there is a peculiar side about God's love that is often overlooked.

Let's read about it in Zephaniah 3:17. The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing. (NIV)

God Almighty, in all His omnipotence, unlimited power and strength, is in our midst and is taking great joy in us, just like the breastfeeding mother delights in the small baby on her bosom. He quiets down our fears and soothes our doubts with His love.

Most of all, God rejoices over us with singing. This great King (God Himself) is among us and is singing love unto us. That's how God rejoices over the object of His love.

It is therefore a big contradiction for Christians to be sad and forlorn when God is actually in their midst, delighting in them, singing with great joy and love for them. Those of us who trust in Him should rejoice, shouting for joy. If He is for us, who can be against us? Let us delight in Him the way He delights in us. Let us take pleasure in Him more than in anything or anyone else: with all our hearts, all our minds, all our souls, and all our strength.

What about loving our neighbor as ourself? Let us read 1 John 4:11-12. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and His love is made complete in us.

Stephen, the first martyr, was empowered to love his neighbor by the knowledge of God's love for him. Jesus pointed out this love to his disciples, among whom was Stephen. Jesus often exemplified God's love by loving others so that his disciples may see and follow.

When Stephen was being stoned to death, he uttered out, "Lord, do not charge this sin on them." Stephen was following the example of Jesus who similarly prayed when He was dying on the cross: "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." Jesus loved His neighbor this way. So did Stephen.

Love must not intend harm. Love wills good towards the object of love. But we must guard ourselves against fear. Love is often denied because of fear. People tend to withhold their love when their hearts and minds are gripped by fear: of loss, of pain, of rejection, of shame, of death..…..

Fear can even overwhelm a weak faith. It can influence man's mind to abandon his trust in God. Remember the apostles on a boat one stormy night? Fearing for their lives, they lost their trust in Jesus who was sleeping on that boat. When Jesus awakened and calmed the storm, He remarked about their lack of faith.

Likewise, fear can cause us to lose sight of the reality that God is in our midst, delighting in those who trust Him, even singing over those who love Him. Don't let our fears fool us into forgetting this.

Today's verses hold one more important reminder for us. The teacher of the law had a remarkable reaction towards Jesus' answer. Let's read about it in Mark 12:32-34. "Well said, teacher", the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than any burnt offerings and sacrifices."
When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, He said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And from then on no one dared ask Him any more questions.

May our reaction be the same. May we delight in trusting and submitting obediently to the words of Jesus just like that teacher did. God bless us all.