I was told to share my thoughts on the two most important commandments in the Bible. You can find the reference from Matthew 22:34-40, Mark 12:28-34 and Luke 10:25-37.
To sum it up, they are:
1. "Love God with everything you have." and
2. "Love your neighbour as you love yourself."
What do they mean for the Christian?
1. It helps to refer to 1 John 4:7-21.
From the verses, we can see that God loves us first, and thus, it should not be difficult for us to love Him back. It is made easier for us, because we are told to love Him with what we have, and not what we do not have.
Why does God demand that of us?
Imagine that I love God with everything I have except for one thing. It could be something simple like my computer games, which I spend more time at than with God, or something complicated like my choice of a girlfriend, where I tell God not to interfere.
This simply means that the one area becomes my god. It also means that I am, in reality, enslaved (addicted) to the one area, since I told God not to come in and help me make godly decisions.
When we surrender all to God, we gain the ultimate freedom - the ability to live the life that God knows is best for us.
How do we know we have really loved God with everything we have?
It is when we are ready to drop those things at a moment's notice. It does not mean that we must drop everything or anything now, but it means that God is given the final say. Thus, when He tells us "no", we know that it is not good for us.
Another consideration is how the others are affected by us. If we damage our relationships with our loved ones over a particular area, chances are that we have not surrendered that area to God. Read Romans 14-15 and 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 for further elaboration.
This brings us to:
2. Luke 10:30-37 sums up how to love our neighbour.
We are to show them mercy, because we ourselves received mercy from the Lord. We are to avoid hurting them, because that is how we do not want to be treated. We are to treat them the way we ourselves want to be treated.
For example, if we want to others to respect us, we should show respect to others. If we want others to be honest with us, we should be honest with them too. Finally, if we do not want others to use vulgarities on us, we should watch our own mouths.
What happens if we are not treated the way we treat others?
Does it really matter? Who would God be pleased with at the end of the day? Who would He reserve His fury for?
Finally, read 1 Corinthians 13 to see the characteristics we should aim to have.
Consider how you can change your lifestyle today, to live out this two commandments and enjoy the freedom that come with them!
