Love Each Other… So That…

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Scripture:  John 13:31-35

When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. Read more…

Looking to Sunday

by Elaine Poproski

Someone once asked Jesus what the most important commandment was. He began his answer this way: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment.[1]

For the last four months, we’ve been focused on friendship with God. We’ve talked about knowing God and we’ve been introduced to all sorts of Spiritual Disciplines, which we understand to be tried and true tools that put us in a position to know God. The expectation is that as we get to know God, we will become more attuned to God’s presence in our lives and in the world. And as we become more attuned to God’s presence, the more we will discover and experience who He is. And the more familiar we become with who he is, the more we will love God.

But loving God isn’t the full equation. When Jesus was asked to identify the most important commandment, he didn’t leave it at just one. He added this: And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbour as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.[2]

Over the coming weeks we’re going to be shifting our focus from the greatest commandment to the one that is like it. We’re going to move from focusing on loving God, to loving people. It doesn’t mean we’re no longer interested in loving God; Jesus was really clear that loving God and loving people are joined. They’re like two sides of a single coin. In fact, one of the ways we love God is by loving people. After all, isn’t that what it means to follow Jesus, who loved people so much he gave his life for people?

As you prepare for Sunday, perhaps spend some time thinking about these two greatest commandments. Does your life reflect them? Does the way you live your life show that you love God? Does it show that you love people? What stands in the way of you loving God and people well? Have you experienced what it is to be loved well by God? Have you experienced what it is to be loved well by people? What might our church look like if we were committed to these two greatest commandments?

 

[1] Matthew 22:37 – 38.

[2] Matthew 22:39 – 40.