Love: The Greatest Commandment

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil, cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. – Romans 12:9-10

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. – Galatians 5:22-23

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. – 1 Corinthians 13:1-3

There’s nothing worse than discovering that someone who claimed to love you, didn’t really love you at all; they just wanted something that you had. Hypocritical love is rampant in the world today. The term ‘love’ is the most misused word in English language. The Bible is clear about what it means when it mentions the word ‘love’. The Word of God refers to love as being genuine, real, visible through actions rather than by words. God’s definition of love is tangible and unconditional and it reflects the condition of our hearts. We are called to chase after what is good and hate what is evil – yes, hate evil. The fact that we love does not mean we open ourselves up for the evil in our midst but it does mean that we love our enemies even if we do not like what they do.

Expressing brotherly love means we love like Christ loves. It means we reach out to the un-loveable and show them the love of God. This is the only way that we can bring light into the otherwise dark world of people who are yet to come to Christ. We are never to think ourselves as better than anyone because it is only by the grace of God that we can walk in His love.

Love can change so many things in this decaying world we are in right now. God knows that all we really need to thrive is love that is why love is the greatest commandment and the first item listed in the fruits of the Spirit.