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DEUTERONOMY 6:1-9  

HEBREWS 9:11-14 

MARK 12:28-34 

Love God and neighbour is the theme for our reflection. The dictionary definition of love is defined as an intense feeling of deep affection. This intense feeling of deep affection is the motivation for the things we do for love however, we shall come to discover that for Christians the reason for which we love God and neighbour is founded on the love Jesus first gave us through His unconditional and sacrificial love. We shall therefore reflect on the theme through the following points;  

1. No one can understand the true meaning of love unless the person has experienced and understood the unconditional and sacrificial love of Christ.  

2. The love of Christ is the foundation and motivation for our love for God and our neighbour.  

Firstly, it is important to know that our understanding of love is defective but the love of Christ is complete and effective therefore no one can understand the true meaning of love unless the person has experienced and understood the unconditional and sacrificial love of Christ.  There are three types of love, Philo, Eros and Agape love.

Philo love is the love that exists among family and friends. It is also known as the familial love. It is the kind of love that binds ethnic groups, a class of people and a group of people who are connected through a mutual identity.  The weakness of this kind of love is that once a person is not part of a family or group that person is discriminated against and is not shown the level of care accorded to a member of the group. The person is considered a stranger. It is interesting to note that some churches and church groups even practice Philo love through their internal policies. Their welfare schemes and packages are only limited to members of the church and the group. If you are a stranger you are given nominal care or attention. In some churches until you become a full or registered member you are not given the needed attention or care and this a clear manifestation of Philo love.

Eros love is basically the romantic love that attracts a man and woman to each other. It focuses more on the physical qualities of the person than his or her innate attributes. This kind of love also leads to sexual attraction. Some men are attracted to the curves and skin colour and general beauty of a lady. Some ladies on the other hand are also attracted to the height and stature of a man. Some people also show eros love when the person they are attracted to is rich or belongs to a certain social, political or economic class. The weakness of eros love is that once the physical attractions fade off, the love also dwindles. 

Having realised the defects of Philo and Eros love, Jesus demonstrated Agape love to us. Jesus our Saviour and High Priest demonstrated an unconditional and sacrificial love by sacrificing His own blood so that whoever believes in Him will be cleansed and saved thus Hebrews 9:12-14  tells us that “He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean.  How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!”  Jesus lays the foundation of Agape love and this love is the kind of love that every believer must have regardless of whatever relationship he or she finds himself or herself in. Philo and Eros love are not bad in themselves but they have their own limitations but Agape love is complete, Christocentric and ought to be the love we have for our neighbour. It is the love that must exist in the Church of Christ. Every feels love and accepted when there is Agape love in the church.

Secondly, when we have experienced the agape love of Christ then we can now appreciate what it means to love God and love our neighbour. The love of Christ becomes the foundation and motivation for loving God and our neighbour. In Deuteronomy 6:1-9, Moses instructs the Israelites that “ 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.” (Deuteronomy 6:4-5). Israel was to love God because He delivered them from slavery in Egypt and promised to give them “a land flowing with milk and honey. (Deuteronomy 6:3). As at this time God had shown Israel and the world His power of deliverance. Israel was therefore expected to Love God based on their experience of God’s wonders and miraculous power and the promise of a land flowing with milk and honey.  We can therefore say that God showed His love through His mighty powers and wonder and Israel was to love Him for that. Some Christians of our time are not different from the Israelites of that time because they love God because of His mighty powers and His ability to give them security and prosperity. My dear friend, why do you love God or what is your motivation for loving God?  

We get a deeper sense of motivation for loving God and consequently loving our neighbour in Hebrews 9:11-14 as discussed earlier.  God demonstrated His love this time not through the display of power, miracles, signs and wonders but through the unconditional and sacrificial love of Jesus, His only begotten son who was sacrificed for the salvation of humanity. Apart from loving God because He is powerful, we must love Him because “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16).   

If we truly understand the unconditional and sacrificial love God gave us through Christ, in that “…God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us”(Romans 5:8).  We must therefore love our neighbours as ourselves because we are the products of God’s love. Jesus again reminds us that the summary of all the commandments and indeed the whole of Scripture as we have it now is that “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:30-31).  In other words, the reason for Loving God is that, He first loved me and saved me through Christ, and the reason for loving my neighbour is that, the Love of Christ has become the foundation and motivation for my love therefore I cannot love God and hate or remain indifferent toward my neighbour.  Love, therefore, becomes our way of life and not a choice.  Consequently, I give to God not because God needs my money but because God first loved me and therefore I am only showing Him the love I recieved from Christ, through my giving. I give to my neighbour not because I want to show my neighbour the substance of my wealth but to demonstrate to my neighbour that I am a product of God’s love through Christ for which I extend this priceless love to my neighbour.  Who therefore is my neighbour, my neighbour is anyone God brings my way in life. Kindly refer to the story of the good Samaritan in Luke 10:25-35  

In conclusion beloved in the Lord, no one can understand the true meaning of love unless the person has experienced and understood the unconditional and sacrificial love of Christ. The love of Christ is the foundation and motivation for our love for God and our neighbour.  May the Holy Spirit strengthen us to continually love God and love our neighbours even when they do not reciprocate the love we have for them. Amen  

Jean-Paul Agidi (Rev)