Integrative Love: The effective connection of love for God and love for neighbor

By Xh. Chimmoua Lee

Scripture/Passage: Matthew 22:34-40 ESV

“But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

I remember; about four-five years ago I had a conversation with a young man about relationships and faith. In our conversation I found that  there was a disconnect between church life, family life, and love life, but I could not thumb the reason. Not that these relationships didn’t impact each other and cannot co-exist, but it seemed like there was a different version of that same person in each relationship. It puzzled me until I came across some research discussing this kind of issue. According to Barna research, there is a growing trend of separation between religion and family life, particularly among younger generations, with many young adults distancing themselves from the religious practices of their childhood, indicating a potential disconnect between family values and active faith practice (Barna research website). Like this young man, many of us do a good job of separating Christianity from our lives, though our  true and new found-life is only found in Christ (Matt 16:25). We are a different person when we are at church on Sundays, midweek bible studies, our gatherings and fellowship with the saints compared to when we are at work, among our colleagues and our unbelieving community. For some reason, we have convinced ourselves or learned somewhere along the way that our Christianity has nothing to do with other areas of our life.

In our passage, Jesus helps us deal with this issue. Time after time, the religious leaders and teachers come to challenge Jesus with questions regarding authority, resurrection and politics. Though Jesus calls them out indicting them of their hardened hearts and rejection of him (Matt 21:23-27, 32, 40-42,45-46; 22:14, 21-22), we see how persistent and aggressive they become to validate their callous hearts. In our passage, we see that the Pharisees and Sadducees gathered together and sent a lawyer who asks Jesus about which would be the greater commandment of the Law given by Moses. It is interesting that they sent a person who not only knows the law but presumes to know the application of it. Instead of quoting the first commandment of the 10  or any other, Jesus answers quoting from Deuteronomy 6:5, to love God with the whole person’s being and devotion. Jesus follows up what should have been one answer with another commandment and says that this commandment is like the first which is to love one’s neighbor as oneself (Lev 19:18-19).

What is clear from this passage is that Jesus is demonstrating for us the integrative nature of God’s law and love. Jesus is stating that love for God and love for neighbors is one of the same thing. They are not mutually exclusive. They are not even different expressions of the same love. Rather, loving your neighbor who is made in the image of God is the same as loving God. In addition loving God is loving your neighbor in spite of their differences.

This is the solution to the disconnect. The problem that the Pharisees, sadducees, and teachers of the law had with loving their Samaritan neighbors and sinners was that they thought their love for God is separate from their love for neighbor. They thought their love for God was too holy and prohibited them to identify with sinners or political enemies. Just like the young man that I mentioned earlier, he thinks that his relationship with God has no impact or little to do with the rest of his relationships. But he misses the point; they are all relationships created and gifted by God for His glory. Like the Pharisees, seducers, and young man that I mentioned, we have hardened our hearts to what God Almighty has done for us. The truth is as sinful and rebellious the Israelites were, God (YWH) identified Himself with them (Lev 26:12). This is only made possible through the ceremonial and sacrificial systems of the laws.

What enables and empowers us to not dichotomize the two (love for God and love for neighbor) is the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. This is why the apostle John writes, “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers”(1 John 3:16 ESV) and “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen”(1 John 4:20 ESV). John also understands the effective connection between love for God and love for neighbor. Love for God has major implications for our love for family, friends, partners, and enemy. In fact, this is the only way we know how to love.

Reflect
How does our relationship with our friends compare to and reflect our relationship with God? How can we love our neighbors even though we disagree with them? How can you maintain integrity in all spheres of your life?

Pray
Our Father in Heaven, help us to reflect you in all walks of our lives. Let your love and abiding word determine our desires, goals, and boundaries. Help us to identify how loving our neighbors is loving you and how loving you is loving our neighbors. Thank you for a integrative love that transforms all areas of our lives into the likeness of your son Jesus. We pray its effectiveness in our lives and that your Word will not return void. Amen.