People talk and sing about love all the time. Love, however, is elusive for many. We live in a world where a love song is often more appropriately titled a lust song. The sarcasm and so-called comedy is often the very opposite of love. The examples that we see in the media defile love. There is certainly no love in the news or in politics. How many times a day does the news cover some politician “fighting” for some cause, but not demonstrating any love for the people he/she champions. It’s really easy in this current environment to get all wrapped up around the axels of division, criticism, distrust, and even hate than to remember the commandment to love one another as yourself.
We hear all the time that the Old Testament is about God’s wrath and the New Testament is about God’s love. But God’s love is demonstrated throughout the Bible and should serve as a constant reminder to us that love is the basis of our faith walk. Deuteronomy 7:13, says of God, ”He will love you, bless you and increase your numbers…” Love is the overriding theme throughout the book of Deuteronomy. The Hebrew root for love, a-h-v (ahavah), and appears more than any other book of the Torah (23 times). The LORD calls the people to fear, love, and serve Him, ”with all your heart and all your being…” a repeat of the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4), the most central thought of all God’s people.
Deuteronomy 10:16 says, “Therefore circumcise the foreskin of your heart; and don’t be stiff-necked any longer! In Romans 2:28-29, the apostle Paul taught that ritual circumcision was to be an outward sign of an inward reality that is a complete commitment to God. He said that a person can be physically circumcised and have an uncircumcised heart, and you can have a circumcised heart and not be physically circumcised. In other words, truly loving God is the circumcision of the heart! Then God says “you are to love the foreigner, since you were foreigners in Egypt (10:19),” an expansion on loving your neighbor as yourself. In Romans 13:9, Paul summarizes the law in one rule, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Romans 13:10 says, “Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fullness of the Law.” In Matthew 22:36-40, Jesus said to love the Lord first, then love your neighbor as yourself, “All the law and the prophets hang on these two commandments.” Without love, justice is oppressive, and without justice, love is chaos. Our Lord knows exactly what we need to be the kind of people and live the kind of lives He wants for us. Psalm 19:8 says, “The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.” The next time someone says that the Old Testament is just about rules and the New Testament is about love, you can set them straight! But never forget that loving one another is not just a suggestion, it is a commandment.
