What is the Greatest Commandments of them all?
Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; He is the faithful God, keeping His covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep His commands.
- Deuteronomy 7:9
The Holy Bible is filled with several important commandments from God but in essence they all stem from God's love for His creations. God sent His ultimate gift of love through His son, our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ, thus showing the world what love truly means. As it is written:
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)
"God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)
"This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” (John 15:12-13)
God is a loving, merciful, sincere and just God. Since these Christian qualities bring about harmony, bliss and many blessings in our respective lives, God commanded us to love Him and then others as ourselves...
Knowing & Seeing God Through Love
The blessed apostle John wrote the following message: ''7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.
Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us.
If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.'' (1 John 4:7-21)
Thus Love Is the Greatest of the Spiritual Gifts As Well
The blessed apostle Paul said that love is the greatest and most essential of all the spiritual gifts: "Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing." (1 Corinthians 13:1-3)
What is *Love* though?
The true definition of Christian Love
A Christian way of life it is to care lovingly of the welfare of others, serving humbly and giving generously to our fellow
brothers and sisters around us. According to the Holy Bible a loving person is patient, kind and forgiving. S/he is not envious, boastful, disrespectful, proud or arrogant, rude or selfish. S/he is not easily provoked, keeps no record of wrongs, thinks no evil but rejoices in the truth. Protects, trusts, believes, hopes and endures all things. A loving person never tires or fears from doing what is good and what is right.
God certainly loves us, despite our flaws and though we fail Him on daily basis. Most of us know this to be true in our minds, but how often do we live out of such love and understanding as mentioned in 1 Corinthians 13? Do we even truly love God in such manner?
When we place God above everything and everyone then we keep our egos in check. Negative external influences nor the internal negative ego are unable to have any effects on us from what God appreciates or expects from us - when we truly embrace the love of God both ways. Love Never Fails (1 Corinthians 13:8). When in doubt, always think what is the most loving, caring, unselfish, etc. thing to do in this or that case?
To be a Christian means to be aware on daily basis that God is all around us 24/7 and due to our highly valued relationship we have with him - we ought to fear to do anything wrong out of respect and love to Him. And out of our desire to not sadden Him. People may hurt and/or challenge our character but He commands us to love them anyways, for He loves us though we are not perfect. He doesn't ask of us what He Himself does not do. He exemplified to us in all manners of life what it means to be a follower of the almighty, throughout the Holy Bible.
When we truly love from the heart and act accordingly, we aren't at risk of violating the rest of our creator's commandments. For instances none of the 10 commandments (Exodus 20:1-17) can be broken if love rules your heart. A loving person easily forgives, speaks only the truth, is filled with humility and grace, is understanding and considerate, treats others with kindness and compassion, and so forth.
To truly love God means to do our best to make Him proud that we are His children. As written in first Book of the blessed apostle John chapter 3 "Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him...
6 Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him. 7 Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. 8 He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. 9 Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.
10 In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. 11 For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another, 12 not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous. 13 Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death. 15 Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
16 By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 17 But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?
18 My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. 19 And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him. 20 For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. 21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. 22 And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. 23 And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment.
24 Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us. (1 John 3)
What is YOUR heart, your spirit filled with? In what ways are you loving the people around you? Because that's what matters the most to God.
More references to Love from the Holy Bible:
Psalm 37:28
"For the LORD loves the just and will not forsake his faithful ones... "
Psalm 86:15
"But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness."
John 13:35 "By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Ephesians 4:2
"Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love."
1 Peter 4:8
"And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.”
Proverbs 10:12
"Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs."
Matthew 5:33-34 "You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.”
Luke 6:35
"But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil."
Leviticus 19:18
"Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD."
Romans 12:9
"Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good."
Romans 12:21 "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."
Colossians 3:12-14
"Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection."
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