“…which is the most important command in the laws of Moses?” Jesus replied, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. The second most important is similar: ‘Love your neighbor as much as you love yourself.’” —Matthew 22:36-39 (TLB)

Laws of Love

1. The best use of life is love.

Love validates my faith.

Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. —1 John 4:8 (NIV)

Love integrates my life.

Love is more important than anything else. It is what ties everything completely together. —Colossians 3:14 (CEV)

Love compensates for my sin.

Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins. —1 Peter 4:8 (NLT)

Love reverberates forever.

So these three things continue forever: faith, hope, and love. And the greatest of these is love. —1 Corinthians 13:13 (NCV)

So no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love. —1 Corinthians 13:3 (Msg)

2. The best expression of love is time.

…we must show love through actions that are sincere, not through empty words. —1 John 3:18 (GW)

3. The best time to show love is now.

Whenever you possibly can, do good to those who need it. Never tell your neighbors to wait until tomorrow if you can help them now. —Proverbs 3:27-28 (GNT)

Prayer

Father, thank you for this wakeup call today. I needed it. Forgive me for allowing other things to crowd out my relationship with you. And forgive me for not loving the people you’ve given me to do life with as I should. I want to change. I want to invest my life in love. Help me prioritize my time on the relationships that matter most. And help me to change now, not later. Thank you for Jesus and all the wonderful people you’ve put in my life. In Jesus name, amen.

Discussion Questions:

ICEBREAKER: If you were a coach of a football team, which Biblical character would you have as the quarterback and why? (Note: Answers cannot be Jesus and/or God)

1.) What is love (baby don’t hurt me)? How does the world’s viewpoint of love differ from God’s?

2.) Read John 13:35. According to this verse, loving each other helps the world see that we belong to Christ. How? What are some things you can do to help love each other so that the world can experience Christ’s love?

3.) What gets in our way of loving others and/or God? How can we overcome these obstacles?

4.) 1 Corinthians 13 lists these attributes of love (note: it does mention more):
- Love is patient.
- Love is kind.
- Love is not easily angered.
- Love always protects.
- Love always hopes.
At what point(s) during our day-to-day lives do we find ourselves NOT showing these characteristics of love?

Going deeper

Matthew 22 tells us to “Love God…and love people.”
If the best expression of love is time, what can you do this week to spend more time with God this week than you did last week?
List 3 specific people: a family member, a friend that goes to church, and someone you know that doesn’t go to church. Now, look at the attributes listed out in question 4. On a scale of 1 – 10, how are you at displaying each of these attributes with each person? This week, what can you do to improve your “score” by 1?