What Must I Do? - Luke 10:25-28

"And behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted Him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? 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. And He said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live."

     The Pharisees and teachers of the law and such viewed Jesus not sent of God, and thus they were always skeptical of His teachings. They frequently tested Him, trying to trap Him by getting Him to say something that wasn't in the law, proving that He was a fraud. In this particular instance, it seems to me that the lawyer may have thought that Jesus would give him a new commandment that he had to keep, which would open Himself up to be denounced as a fraud. But Jesus would do no such thing.
     Not only did Jesus not give a new commandment, but He gave no commandment in reply to the lawyer's question. Instead, He asked the lawyer what his reading of the law showed the way to eternal life to be. His answer? Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind, and to love your neighbor as yourself. Matthew records this same event in the latter part of chapter twenty-two, but it is Jesus who gives the commandment there, in reference to Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18. In finishing, Jesus says to the lawyer and the teachers of the law, "On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets".

     Where once there were hundreds upon hundreds of laws for man to keep in order that he might gain eternal life, now there are simply two. But Jesus came not to abolish the law or the prophets, rather, to fulfill them. By His death and resurrection, all sin is covered and all debt is paid. The only two commandments that one needs to follow are the two given here: Love God, and love man. And this is really only one commandment, which is to love. All the other commandments of the old testament are fulfilled in this one act.
     A person will not murder someone if he loves them. A husband will not commit adultery if he loves his wife. You would not steal if you loved God, for you would trust that He would provide for your every need. You would not covet what others have, because in loving God you would realize that He has given you what is best for you, and has withheld nothing good from you. We would not take the Lord's name in vain if we loved Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. All commands are fulfilled by love. Even loving man is fulfilled in loving God, for anyone who loves God would grow to have the same heart as God for man, and God loves man.
     It is crucially important that we do not think of the Christian faith as a set of rules and regulations, but realize that it is a loving relationship with a loving Creator, One who came to earth in the form of lowly human flesh and gave His life to pay our ransom. God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. And as God so loved, so ought we to love. Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

     How does someone begin to love in the same way God loves? It isn't exactly in our nature to give up self and die for others. The answer? It is by the power of God through the Holy Spirit, and by this alone, that we are able to love. We are incapable of the full magnitude of selfless devotion that God has for mankind. It is only by God loving through us that we are able to have this kind of love for others.
     In times where you feel particularly selfish and unloving, pray that God would fill you abundantly with His Spirit, to teach you how to love and to soften your heart toward others. Ask God to give you eyes to see people through His perspective. Do not count your life dear to you, realizing that it is merely a vapor, and that only what gives glory to God will remain in the end. Live for God, love others. There is no new commandment, but still the same one from the beginning: Love.