LOVE IS THE HIGHEST RULE!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

MONDAY AUGUST 22, 2022.

SUBJECT: LOVE IS THE HIGHEST RULE!

Memory verse: "And now abide faith, hope, Love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” (First Corinthians 13 vs 13.)

READ: Mark 12 vs 28 vs 31:

12:28: Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, “Which is the first commandment of all?”

12:29: Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is, ‘Hear, O Israel; the Lord our God, the Lord is one.

12:30: And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment.

12:31: And the second, like it, is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.

INTIMATION:

Love is having great affection for, feeling a passionate attraction to. Biblically, It is described as the basic first cause and ultimate expression of God and man, is the Christian gospel, and church ethics; a fruit of the Spirit. Love describes God; “God is love” (First John 4 vs 8 & 16). Love as used of God, expresses the deep and constant love and interest of a perfect Being towards entirely unworthy objects, producing and fostering a reverential love in them towards the Giver, and a practical love towards those who are partakers of the same, and a desire to help others to seek the Giver.

The intent of God’s Law is to promote love to God and others. Consequently, the Christian faith involves many rules that are meant to be governed by love. That makes love the highest rule, but it also moves Christians toward personal sacrifice, discipline, and responsibility, which are scarce resources in today’s world. When confronted with rules of your own or others’ making, ask: (1) Does the rule serve God’s purpose? (2) Does the rule reveal God’s character? (3) Does the rule help people get into God’s family, or keep them out? (4) Does the rule have biblical roots that can be supported in the context of all Scripture? Good rules pass all four tests.

Everything concerning God is summed up in love. His laws can be reduced to two simple principles: Love God and love others. When you love God completely and care for others as you care for yourself, then you have fulfilled the intent of God’s Law.—the “Ten Commandments.” According to Jesus, these two commandments summarize all God’s laws. Let them rule your thoughts, decisions, and actions. When you are uncertain about what to do, ask yourself which course of action best demonstrates love for God and love for others.

Love can be known only from the actions it prompts. God’s love is seen in the gift of His Son: “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. 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” (First John 4 vs 9 - 10). 

Obviously this is not the love of complacency, or affection, that is, it was not drawn out by any excellency in its object: “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5 vs 8). It was an exercise of the divine will in deliberate choice, made without assignable cause save that which lies in the nature of God Himself.

Love explains: (1) why God creates—because He loves, He creates people to love; (2) why God cares—because He loves them, He cares for sinful people; (3) why we are free to choose—God wants a loving response from us; (4) why Christ died—His love for us caused Him to offer a solution to the problem of sin; and (5) why we receive eternal life—God’s love expresses itself to us forever.

Real love is an action, not a feeling. It produces selfless, sacrificial giving. The greatest act of love is giving oneself for others. The Scripture says, “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” (First John 3 vs 16). How can we “lay down our lives?” By serving others with no thought of receiving anything in return. 

Sometimes it is easier to say we’ll die for others than to truly live for them—this involves putting others’ desires first. Jesus taught this same principle of love, He said, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” (John 15 vs 13.) 

We are to love each other as Jesus loved us, and He loved us enough to give His life of inestimable value for ours that are completely worthless because of sin. We may not have to die for someone, but there are other ways to practice sacrificial love: listening, helping, encouraging, giving, caring. Evaluate your lifestyle, and measure your obedience to the highest rule! You can start right away: Think of someone in particular who needs this kind of love today. Give all the love you can, and then try to give a little more. Then make it a regular practice.

Prayer: Abba Father, You are love, and has poured out Your love in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. Give me the grace, and empower me to love as You do, in Jesu’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!