The Narrow PathSample

The Greatest Commandment

The problem of individualism might be the most deceptive of the three temptations of the broad path we looked at yesterday. It convinces us that we love God even while we neglect our neighbor.

Consider the notion of American freedom, which says, “My freedom is mine to enjoy.” Contrast this with Christian freedom, which implies, “My freedom is to serve my neighbor (see Galatians 5:13).

Christian freedom is about service. Freedom, often espoused in our culture, is about the self. Christian freedom is found in God, my neighbor, and myself (in that order). Modern freedom is oriented around the unholy trinity: me, myself, and I.

Our love for our neighbor—especially the neighbor who is very different from us—proves our love for God. Our theology, no matter how good, becomes irrelevant and idolatrous when it’s not used in service of loving God and neighbor.

In a later scene, Jesus is approached by the Pharisees, a group of rigidly devoted religious leaders in Jesus’s day: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” (Matthew 22:36).

Jesus, sensing a verbal trap, quotes from Deuteronomy 6, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength” (verses 4–5). Then, right after referencing this well-known scripture, he adds something to it: “‘The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these (Mark 12:30–31).

The question was, “Which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus cites two. “There is no commandment greater than these.” Now, you may notice the grammatical problem with that sentence. We expect Jesus to say, “There is no commandment greater than this.”

It’s grammatically incorrect but spiritually perceptive. In Jesus’s mind, these two commandments are inseparable. It is impossible to separate loving God from loving others, and it is impossible to separate our personal relationship with God from our personal relationships with those around us. How you love God is how you love your neighbor, and how you love your neighbor is how you love God.

God, I want to love you with all my heart, all my soul, and all my strength. Show me how to do this through serving both you and my neighbor. Amen.