And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy
neighbour as thyself. (Matt 22:39)
Being able to love one’s neighbor is the same as loving God
(1 John 4:20, 21). The original word used in this statement by Jesus for ‘love’
is 'agape' or ‘divine love’, not ‘phileo’ which concerns affection. Divine love
is the esteeming of others over ourselves (Phil 2:3); hence it is a commandment
to demonstrate moral and ethical love not led by human emotions. It is one
that seeks the best for others, not desiring reciprocation.
Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are
forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth
little. (Luke 7:47)
From God’s perspective loving others is the demonstration of
loving God. The reason why we can’t obey God’s commandment to love above our
human affection could be because we haven’t experience the forgiveness of God. It
is not that God’s forgiveness is not available, but we reject forgiveness for
various reasons. If we view sin from
our perspective, there is a sense of self righteousness. Viewing sin from God’s
perspective will humble us to know how we have deliberately disobeyed and grieved
Him. The heavenly message is that Jesus' objective in coming is to save us from
our sins (Matt 1:21). Ask the Lord to reveal His divine love that we may show
the same toward others, do not be surprised that it is the beginning of our
humble dying to self pilgrimage of experiencing His full forgiveness to show the same toward
others (Matt 18:35, Luke 10:37)).
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