“Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested Him with this question: ‘Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?’ Jesus replied: ‘“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.’” —Matthew 22.34-40
“Teach me the entire
“What is hateful for you, do not do to your neighbor: that is the whole Torah, everything else is interpretation.” —Rabbi Hillel
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.” —Deuteronomy 6.4-9
Shema: to listen & to
Ahava: loyalty &
Levav: your inner center of thinking, feeling, & desire.
Nephesh: your whole person or lifeforce, including your
Meod: very, much,
Problem: When it comes to loving God, my tendency is either to
“Do not defraud or rob your neighbor. Do not hold back the wages of a hired worker overnight. Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind, but fear your God. I am the Lord. Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly. Do not go about spreading slander among your people. Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor’s life. I am the Lord. Do not hate a fellow Israelite in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in their guilt. Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.” —Leviticus 19.13-18
1. Make love the
“Loving people well is the defining characteristic of a mature Christian.” —John Mark Comer
“Love is not a feeling but the divine way of relating to others and oneself that moves through every dimension of our being and restructures our world for God.” —Dallas Willard
“Love is an unconditional commitment to an imperfect person in which one gives oneself to another to bring the relationship to God’s intended purposes.” —Michael Wilkins
“There is so much more to the law than just rules or commandments. It provides a picture of reality: of how things are with God and His creation. The prophets and the Gospels share with the law this vital function of enabling human beings to know God, what God is doing, and what we are to do – wherein our true well-being lies.” —Dallas Willard
2. Make loving God &
“When we do what Jesus teaches because we agree with Him, that’s great and is probably a sign of the Spirit of God at work in you, but that’s not obedience. That’s just doing what you think is best and agreeing with Jesus about it. Obedience is when you do what Jesus teaches even when you don’t understand—or if you are ruthlessly honest—even when you disagree, but you trust Him. You trust His love, you trust His wisdom, you trust His authority over your life, because He is in the place of God, not you. He is the One defining good and evil, not you.” —John Mark Comer
“Sin is ultimately an attempt to fill our need for God with everything but God.” —Richard Foster
3. Make loving God & loving neighbor
“We love because He first loved us.” —1st John 4.19
Discipleship is creating an overall lifestyle that is designed to facilitate deep transformation through abiding in Jesus’s love and living in His community.