Matthew 22:37-40 - Love and Action

Matthew 22:37-40 “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.””

Valentine's day has arrived upon us once again, a holiday not normally associated with the Church calendar. However, over many years it has become a day that the Church uses to focus on relationships, specifically marriage relationships. Over the week preceding and proceeding February 14th many churches host marriage seminars, “date night” (where the youth of the church watch the younger youth so the parents can go have a special, romantic dinner and night), and even father/daughter and mother/son dances.  The rest of the world looks at Valentine's Day as a day to celebrate the idea of love by giving flowers, jewelry, and chocolates.  But with this focus on romance, we all miss out on what we should really be reminded of on Valentine's Day: Love – pure, unaltered, eternal, agape Love.

We can go on all day speaking and talking about what love is. 1 Corinthians 13 is an entire Bible chapter dedicated to love, yet real and true Love originates only with God, the Creator of everything.  When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment [of all time] was He replied with Love.  He summarized the entire mosaic law and the content of the messages of all the prophets with Love.

We give roses to the ones we love, but we ourselves received the grandest and greatest rose of all, the Rose of Sharon.  We give jewelry, but we ourselves have received a royal diadem, made specially for us. We give chocolates and other sweet tasting gifts, but we received the Bread of Life.  “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” (1 John 4:10) God loved us – that is a given – yet we must make the choice to return that love. He wants and desires it! How astounding is that, God wants our love, freely given and of our own choice! It is the one thing in all creation that He does not own, even though He deserves it. In His great love for us, He gave us the ability to deny Him the very thing He desires above all else in the universe. Love freely given without reserve is better than demanded respect.

We speak about showing our love and about acting on it, but that is really false. Love is action, it is not shown through action. Love is not an emotion, but rather a lifestyle choice. We chose to love. When we   help our neighbor we are really saying “I love you.” When we feed the poor, clothe the naked, and sit with the sick, we are really saying “I love you.” When we witness to the non-believer, we are really telling them “God Loves you and I love God therefore I love you.” When we tell someone “I love you” and don't assist them with their needs, desires, or wants we really tell them “I really couldn't care less about you.”

This week then, let us make an effort to put action back into our understanding of Love, and loving in our actions rather than “showing” or “proving” our love. Let's concentrate on what God sees and feels for us and for each other instead of what we feel. Indeed, let us have Love rather than love.

Belovèd, let us love: love is of God; in God alone hath love its true abode.
Belovèd, let us love: for they who love, they only, are His sons, born from above.
Belovèd, let us love: for love is rest, and he who loveth not abides unblest.
Belovèd, let us love: for love is light, and he who loveth not dwelleth in night.
Belovèd, let us love: for only thus shall we behold that God who loveth us.

                               Horatius Bonar, 1880.