All You Need Is Love… But What Is Love?
Jesus said it is the way to Eternal Life....
The Good Samaritan, 1633 by Rembrandt
This post is the first in the series from the book Friends With God, Chapter 1: God Wants To Be Friends With You.
One day Jesus was asked by a religious lawyer: Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus said to him, What is written in the Law? How do you read it? (As the man was a religious lawyer, Jesus put the question back to him) And answering, he (the lawyer) said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, with all your mind, and (love) your neighbour as yourself”. And He (Jesus) said to him, You have answered correctly; do this and you shall live. (Luke 10:25-30)
When saying “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart etc. the lawyer was quoting from scripture. (Deut 6:5 and Lev 19:18) These verses were two of the ten scriptures that devout Jews of the time would repeat by rote morning and evening.
The lawyer wasn’t ignorant; he knew the correct answer out of the law of God- the way to eternal life is to love God and love your neighbour. As only God is immortal, then he alone can give immortality. (1Tim 6:16, 1Cor 15:53-57)
Most Christians, however, would think that gaining eternal life is certainly not as simple as that - just love God and do good to others, and it’s yours! Surely, it’s a bit more complicated than that? Yet, that was the question - what shall I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus told him Do this and you shall live- obviously meaning live forever, not just until next week.
Why then has God provided a complicated and very long book (the Bible) to help us learn this simple truth? Perhaps because loving God and neighbour is not a particularly simple task? Indeed so, and Jesus continued to provide a more in-depth answer to the question; for his conversation with the lawyer did not stop when he said do this and you shall live, but, as we will see below, it eventually reached a very profound conclusion.
But he (the lawyer) willing to justify himself, said to Jesus, And who is my neighbour? (Luke 10:31)
Why did he ask this second question? We are told that he wanted to justify himself. It seems that the lawyer thought he was already showing love to others, and wanted Jesus to confirm his righteousness- so that he could perhaps feel more confident that he would indeed inherit eternal life.
Jesus replied by telling the now famous parable of the good Samaritan, and when he concluded it, he said to the lawyer that he (as the Samaritan had done) should likewise go and do good to others. (Luke 10:32-37)
The reason this incident and parable are recorded is obviously to tell us that we, too, can likewise emulate the good works of the Samaritan, and thereby also inherit eternal life!
To inherit eternal life, we need to be developing loving and caring relationships with God and other people: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,… and (love) your neighbour as yourself”.
These two requirements are constantly reiterated in scripture to be complementary to each other: If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And we have this commandment from Him, that he who loves God should love his brother also. (1John 4:20-21)
God has determined that we are to demonstrate our love toward him by our acts toward other people, who are also made in his image. (Gen 1:25-27)
James tells us something similar: My brothers, what profit is it if a man says he has faith (in God) and does not have (good) works (towards other people)? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and if one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled”, but you do not give them those things which are needful to the body (i.e. you give them nothing but words), what good is it? Even so, if it does not have works, faith is dead, being by itself. (Faith is of no value unless you use it to help others) But someone will say, You have faith, and I have works. (Yet, James says in answer to this) Show me your faith without your works, (it’s not possible to see faith) and (contra wise) I will show you my faith by my works. (James 2:14-18)
Your good works for others, demonstrate your faith in and love for God.
James continues to argue his point: You believe that there is one God, you do well; (but that is not a big deal because) even the demons believe (that God exists) and tremble. But will you know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? (James 2:19-20)
We must demonstrate our faith and love toward God, by our love toward others. If we don’t, then our faith in God is meaningless.
This post is the first in the series from the book Friends With God, Chapter 1: God Wants To Be Friends With You.