“THE GREAT COMMANDMENT”

21 “And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.”

1 John 4:21

There are hundreds of commandments found in the Bible. Some are for OT Israelites while some are for NT believers. Some commandments in both Testaments apply to believers. But is Christianity all about command-keeping?

In our previous blog, we learned that love for God yields love for others.

In the last verse of this chapter, John gives the final demand of a life of love: to obey Christ’s command, specifically, to mandate to love other believers.

In the Gospels, the Lord clarifies that loving God and loving others is the most important of all the commandments.

30 “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” 

Mark 12:30-31

A Christian’s obedience to the Lord is demonstrated in this one command. We can’t love God without loving others also; these two kinds of love are interwoven. Therefore, if we claim to love God, we cannot say no to loving others.

Every true believer aims to please the God who saved him. And there’s no better way to achieve that goal than loving God and others. It should be our choice to love, not because we get something out of it. Love doesn’t seek personal benefit. Instead, it seeks the best interest of the object of love.

Pursue the Savior today!