WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO LOVE GOD AND OUR NEIGHBORE AS OURSELF?

[3rdAngel]

Hi guys,

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO LOVE GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART AND OUR NEIGHBOR AS OUR SELF?

I am referring to the words of Jesus here....

• MATTHEW 22:36-40 36, Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 37, Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38, This is the first and great commandment. 39, And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40, On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

Jesus here is quoting from old testament scripture from Deuteronomy and Leviticus.....

• DEUTERONOMY 6:5 5, And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

• LEVITICUS 19:18 18, Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.

...............

QUESTIONS

1. FOR THE FIRST GREAT COMMANDMENT; HOW DO WE LOVE GOD WITH ALL OF OUR HEART AND MIND AND STRENGTH?

2. FOR THE SECOND GREAT COMMANDMENT; HOW DO WE LOVE OUR NEIGHBOR AS OUR SELF?

...............

Interested to know your thoughts


God bless

 

[Brickjectivity]

1. FOR THE FIRST GREAT COMMANDMENT; HOW DO WE LOVE GOD WITH ALL OF OUR HEART AND MIND AND STRENGTH?

First of all, this says to love the "Lord our God" not to love 'God'. The LORD must be your God somehow, not merely someone else's. Putting 'Lord' in there changes it, and also the possessive term 'Our' changes it. If we are aliens to the 'Lord' in some way then this commandment does not apply to us, because we are not part of the 'Our'. For us it would change to 'Their'.

Secondly this command mentions the 'Heart' which in that ancient time and culture was the organ that was supposedly what you used to think. Just as we today consider our brain to be where our thoughts are, that was what they thought the heart was for. So then it means you must love the Lord our God with your entire mind when is says heart. The rest of the passage I am uncertain of. It says 'Soul' and 'Strength'. I suppose it is the rest of you, everything that isn't your mind.

2. FOR THE SECOND GREAT COMMANDMENT; HOW DO WE LOVE OUR NEIGHBOR AS OUR SELF?

The law contains a story of Noah in which violence causes the entire world to be cleansed of humans, except for Noah's family. Noah is a man of peace, and so by keeping to himself and not being involved in the violence he is saved. One would think that this strategy was suicide, but no. Instead Noah and his family are placed into a miraculous ship as the rest of the people are drowned along with their violent ways. Then he is set down upon the ground to start over, just like a new Adam.

The first thing that Noah is told is that every person is to have his own plot of land and his own little garden and his own little life. A promise is given to Noah that as long as peace is maintained the world will not be destroyed again by a flood. Throughout the world the rainbow miraculously appears now whenever it rains, and by this we know that the world is not being flooded by the rains. They will only go so far. However if the world again becomes filled completely with violence it will be destroyed, though not by a flood.

So the way to love your neighbor as yourself is to make sure you both have a little place to live with food and family and happiness, and he must not be jealous of you nor you of him. Then you love your neighbor as you love yourself. The result is theoretically a world which never becomes violent.

 

[3rdAngel]

First of all, this says to love the "Lord our God" not to love 'God'. The LORD must be your God somehow, not merely someone else's. Putting 'Lord' in there changes it, and also the possessive term 'Our' changes it. If we are aliens to the 'Lord' in some way then this commandment does not apply to us, because we are not part of the 'Our'. For us it would change to 'Their'.

Secondly this command mentions the 'Heart' which in that ancient time and culture was the organ that was supposedly what you used to think. Just as we today consider our brain to be where our thoughts are, that was what they thought the heart was for. So then it means you must love the Lord our God with your entire mind when is says heart. The rest of the passage I am uncertain of. It says 'Soul' and 'Strength'. I suppose it is the rest of you, everything that isn't your mind.


The law contains a story of Noah in which violence causes the entire world to be cleansed of humans, except for Noah's family. Noah is a man of peace, and so by keeping to himself and not being involved in the violence he is saved. One would think that this strategy was suicide, but no. Instead Noah and his family are placed into a miraculous ship as the rest of the people are drowned along with their violent ways. Then he is set down upon the ground to start over, just like a new Adam.

The first thing that Noah is told is that every person is to have his own plot of land and his own little garden and his own little life. A promise is given to Noah that as long as peace is maintained the world will not be destroyed again by a flood. Throughout the world the rainbow miraculously appears now whenever it rains, and by this we know that the world is not being flooded by the rains. They will only go so far. However if the world again becomes filled completely with violence it will be destroyed, though not by a flood.

So the way to love your neighbor as yourself is to make sure you both have a little place to live with food and family and happiness, and he must not be jealous of you nor you of him. Then you love your neighbor as you love yourself. The result is theoretically a world which never becomes violent.

Hi there Brick, nice to meet you. Thanks very much for your responses but what does it mean to love the Lord our God with all of our heart and our neighbor as ourselves? It is an interesting question because there was a the same question asked by "the rich young ruler" and the "Scribe of Pharisee" asking Jesus what should we do to be saved. The answers given to each were slightly different but Jesus in Matthew 22:36-40 seems to be linking both answers together.

For example....

Q1. The rich young ruler...

• Matthew 19:16 16, And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?

Q2. The learned lawyer...

• Luke 10:25 One day an expert in the law stood up to test Him. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?

Note the answers are slightly different....

A1. The rich young ruler...

• Matthew 19:17-19 17, And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. 18, He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,19, Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

A2. The learned lawyer...

• Luke 10:26-28 27, And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. 28, And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.

..........

So as shown above, same question is being asked... What must I do to have eternal life...

To the rich young ruler Jesus says keep Gods' 10 commandments.
To the expert in the law who answered His own question from the old testament scriptures was to love the Lord our God with all of our heart and our neighbor as our self.

...........

It seems to me that Jesus is clarifying both answers in Matthew 22:36-40 here...

• Matthew 22:36-40 36, Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 37, Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38, This is the first and great commandment. 39, And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40, On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

............

So for me the words of Jesus in Matthew 22:36-40 add clarity. To the different answers to the same questions asked of the rich young ruler and the Lawyer as to what must we do to be saved... Love according to Jesus is not separate from obedience to Gods' law from the heart because on these two great commandments of love to God and man hang all the law and the prophets. Love to God and man therefore are not separated from Gods' law. Love is expressed through obedience to Gods' law from the heart.

God bless

 

[Brickjectivity]

For example....

Q1. The rich young ruler...

• Matthew 19:16 16, And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?

It does not change my answer. To this question Jesus replies he must keep the law and also must sell his possessions, giving them to the poor.

This goes back to what is told to Noah about each person having their own place. Also you can see in the also you can see in Isaiah 5:8 there is a comment against "...the man who adds field unto field." This is related. Also cursed is the man who moves his neighbor's boundary stone. (Deut 27:17) and there is a set of laws which return property ownership to the original family and boundaries every seventy years. The idea of having neighbors with distinct properties and no jealousy is important to this concept of loving neighbors as yourself, and the concept is to prevent violence and to not be violent.

A2. The learned lawyer...

• Luke 10:26-28 27, And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. 28, And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.

Jesus answers with the story most call The Good Samaritan. A stranger comes across a traveler who has been robbed and beaten and at his own expense cares for the man. Others avoid the man, not wanting to get involved. He cares for him like he cares for himself. In the story he goes far beyond what anyone would expect of him, and he places himself into debt to the innkeeper to see to that stranger's health. This would send most of us away sad. Inns are expensive, and have you ever put up the money to keep a stranger in a hospital? I certainly haven't. I guess I don't care as much about other people as I do about myself. I go for the cheapest insurance which is catered to my specific needs. Most people do the same.

I also don't give away everything that is unequal. I live in a town in which I will potentially inherit land, but not far from me live people descended from slaves many of whom struggle to pay rent having no property of their own. Jesus would say the same to me: "Go and sell your possessions," and I would go away sad, too.

 

[Brickjectivity]

Its possible that the point is nobody would do this (give away all of our possessions), however this story could have implications beyond personal human ones. The Jews are being asked to give away what they have to us who are not Jews, and this could be the point of these two stories. They have the laws, and they have the prophets, and they have family and tradition going back a zillion years. We could be seen as the 'Poor in spirit' and unwashed children, and these stories could be talking about how to revive Israel through catholicism.

 

[3rdAngel]

Its possible that the point is nobody would do this (give away all of our possessions), however this story could have implications beyond personal human ones. The Jews are being asked to give away what they have to us who are not Jews, and this could be the point of these two stories. They have the laws, and they have the prophets, and they have family and tradition going back a zillion years. We could be seen as the 'Poor in spirit' and unwashed children, and these stories could be talking about how to revive Israel through catholicism.

Just curious what do you think my last post was saying in relation to the OP? How did you interpret what I posted? I am just wondering because it seems we are talking different things.
I am not disagreeing with what you have been posting though but I do not understand how your responses relate to what I posted earlier.

 

[Brickjectivity]

Just curious what do you think my last post was saying in relation to the OP? How did you interpret what I posted?

I am sorry. I have missed your point having gotten into a particular canyon of thought.

So you are talking about the law as an expression of love? We have got Paul's letters about living by the spirit versus the rote law. They are plenty confusing, but I think his Romans 7 is helpful. The idea that we have an inclination to do good but also to do wrong fighting inside of us is very pithy and demonstrable. I definitely feel these two forces. If you ask me, Paul also is comparing the law to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil but also to the tree of life. He seems to think the law is good but mixes badly with our internals. Thus he argues that the point is to live by the good inclinations that are spiritual. This sounds to me related to what you are talking about.

 

[3rdAngel]

I am sorry. I have missed your point having gotten into a particular canyon of thought. So you are talking about the law as an expression of love?

Oh no problem, yes kind of. Love to God and man is expressed in obedience to God's law from the heart. Love therefore is the Spirit of the law and does not abolish Gods' law. Love obeys Gods' law and fulfills the laws requirement and love is expressed in obedience to Gods' law. For example, if I love God I will not have other gods and make idols etc... If I love my neighbor I will not lie, steal or murder them or commit adultery with their spouse.

In the past I have looked at how the same question was asked to Jesus about what we must do to have eternal life in the story of the rich young ruler and the Lawyer (Matthew 19:16-19; Luke 10:25-28) and two different answers were given. For me learning about the origin of the two great commandments in the old testament scriptures in Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18 as well as how Jesus links then together who Gods 10 commandments in Matthew 22:36-40 shows that love is the Spirit of the law. Therefore Gods' 10 commandments are not abolished like many falsely claim today but the Spirit of the law is obeying them from the heart.

This is Gods' new covenant promise from Jeremiah 31:31-34 and Ezekiel 36:24-27 repeated in Hebrews 8:10-12. Love to God and man is expressed in obedience to Gods' law which is why Jesus says "On these two commandments of love to God and man hang all the law and the prophets" (Matthew 22:40). Obedience to God's 10 commandments therefore is how love is expressed from a new heart that loves and walks in Gods' Spirit. Love is the Spirit of the law because it is only by love we can obey Gods' law and is why Jesus says "If you love me keep my commandment" - John 14:15.

God bless