The Second Great Commandment – The Kingdom Curriculum IV (7)

The Second Great Commandment

“And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets.” Matthew 22:39, 40

We expect our study and obedience of the Law of God to enable us to grow in love. This is the end of the commandment, and, as we become more like Jesus, it is natural to expect that our love should grow as well. Love for God, as He has outlined in His Law, is the foundation and starting-point for all other love. To love Him supremely is the first commandment, which we learn how to do by studying the statutes, rules, and precepts associated with the first four commandments, as well as by seeking out additional insights from the Word of God and among reliable teachers.

The second great commandment, which Christians must also obey, is to love our neighbors as ourselves. Here the remaining six commandments come into play. If we love our neighbor we will honor him with the same honor we give to our parents. We will not allow hate, grudges, or resentment to build up in us toward him, must less seek to do him any bodily harm. We will not transgress against our neighbor’s wife, nor steal his property, nor lie to him, nor covet anything of his possessions or attainments. Instead, by meditating on the rules, precepts, and statutes that correspond to the last six commandments, we will discover everyday ways of loving our neighbor with the love God gives us as we obey His Law.

It is really quite surprising to discover how utterly practical the Law of God is in helping us think of ways to show love for our neighbors. Love is not mere sentiment; it is action, grounded in truth and designed to reflect the character and purposes of God. The Law of God lays down cornerstones for loving conduct with our neighbors which, as we read and meditate on them, can become a wellspring of ideas and insights concerning how to show the active love of Christ to the people around us.

But loving our neighbors as we love ourselves – indeed, as Christ loved us (Jn. 13:34, 35) – is wholly contrary to our natural inclination and bent. We shall have to work hard to form our thinking, feeling, and priorities in the direction of the kind of love we find outlined in the Law of God, and to master the practices and protocols that embed loving behaviors into our redeemed repertoire of life.

Take up daily reading and meditating in the Law of God; this is the way righteous persons live (Ps. 1). If you do you will discover that, far from being a “dead and a useless thing”, the Law of God is a wellspring of selfless love and spiritual vitality, filling our souls with the knowledge of God and His will and moving us day by day to love both Him and our neighbors with the same love that sent Jesus to the world and on the basis of which He went to the cross.

Order your copy of The Law of God today. Go to www.MyParuchia.com, Publications, Waxed Tablet, to place your order and take up the Kingdom curriculum of our Lord.

—

“In the Gates” is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T.M. Moore

T. M. Moore is editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet).

Scripture quotations in this article are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (c) copyright 2001,2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Editor’s note: The use of a translation other than the Authorised Version in an article does not constitute an endorsement in whole or in part by The Christian Observer.