Love Is Multidimensional (Deut. 6:5)
"Jesus said to him, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself' "(Matt. 22:37-39, NKJV; see also Deut. 6:5).
Bible translations, as with all written works, differ in word choice. For instance, "The bird was little" might read in one translation, "The bird was tiny," or in another, "The bird was small." And all these descriptions would be correct. Therefore, to study the fruit of the Spirit, it is helpful to define meanings by going to the original language of the word. In Deuteronomy 6:5, the Hebrew word for love is ahab, which has a similar range of meanings as love in English, everything from God's infinite affection for His people to the desires of sinful beings. Men can love evil (Ps. 52:3), but they can also love good (Amos 5:15). The context determines which aspect of love is spoken of each time. The love in Deuteronomy 6:5, which Jesus speaks of in connection with the greatest commandment, is the noblest and highest form of self-sacrificing love which each person is commanded to have toward God and others (see Luke 10:25-37).
The Jewish people already knew that the number-one command was to love God with their whole heart, soul, mind, and, as Mark adds, strength(see Mark 12:30). In pointing out all four aspects of the human being, Jesus simply is calling together all that a person is. He is saying, "You need to love God with your entire being." His intent is not to sort out the individual sense of each word; however, much could be gained by studying these four aspects.
Read Matthew 7:12 and Matthew 22:39. What's the important point these texts make? How is this essential to the whole concept of love?
To love your neighbor as yourself means to love all people with your whole heart. The love spoken of in this "second commandment" is the same as in the "first commandment." It is love in action, involving the will and intention. To love our neighbor as ourselves means to take care of someone else the same way you would take care of yourself.
It's easy to talk about loving others as yourself; what's not easy is doing it. How well do you do in this area? How can you learn the hard lessons of death to self in order to minister to the needs of others?
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