Romans 13:10 (RSVCE)
“Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.”
When Jesus was asked by a lawyer “Which is the great commandment in the law?”, He replied summing up the Ten Commandments into two laws: the first, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” and the second, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Mat. 22:37,39)
His commandments is about Love, because GOD Himself is Love. 1 John 14:16 says, “God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.” HE wants us the love to rule, he wants us to meet Him in the course of Love. With His love, GOD sent His Son to us, “For God so loved the world that he gave his begotten Son.”(John 3:16) Our redemption and the promises of GOD will be ours through His love and our love for Him. He wants us to love Him back as He first loved us (1John 4:19).
But how can we love Him back and abide this Law of Love? The Scriptures says we can only love Him back if we love other people, good and bad alike. 1 John 4:9-11says, “ In this, the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the expiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” Verse 20 and 21 of the same epistle reiterates, “If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him, that he who loves God should love his brother also.”
Jesus Christ even made it clear in John 14:15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” But what are Jesus commandments? In Luke 6:27-35, Jesus had detailed this; “But I say to you that hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. To him who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from him who takes away your cloak do not withhold your coat as well. Give to every one who begs from you; and of him who takes away your goods do not ask them again. And as you wish that men would do to you, do so to them. “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High;”
This is hard to do, but why He is expecting us to love this way? The answer is because He had victoriously done this. He gave us this as The New Commandment. Quoting Jesus in John 13:34, He says, “ A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.”
Many would say, Jesus had done this and given us his kind of love, the selfless love because He is GOD Himself and everything is possible to Him. That is a certainty. We cannot love like this on our own and Jesus knew that. We cannot obey this rule of love alone, but what He said lies the panacea, “WITH God, everything is possible.” We can fulfill the Law, not alone, but WITH GOD in us. That’s why when Jesus Christ conditioned us to keep His commandments as a sign of love for Him in John 14:15, He immediately followed it by mentioning the Helper, the Holy Spirit in verse 16. He said, And I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him; you know him, for he dwells with you, and will be in you.” There’s no way we could fulfill the Law of Love WITHOUT the Holy Spirit in us, because the Holy Spirit will be the One to beget His fruit in us. His fruit is Love.
Galatians 5:22-23 says, “ But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such there is no law.” We should notice that fruit in singular form, which means this fruit which is love, fulfills and covers everything, every good character of Jesus. The Two Greatest Law then would be satisfied and therefore would free us through the Spirit of Truth, our Advocate, in the Court of Law of Love of GOD. This Holy Spirit with His fruit of Love will stand in the Divine Court testifying that He is with us when we love our neighbors the way the Messiah did.
My brothers and sisters in the Love of Christ, let us be imitators of God, as beloved children, and walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. St. Paul said that even we speak in the tongues of men and of angels; even if we have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and even if we have all faith, so as to remove mountains, or even we give away all we have, and deliver our bodies to be burned, but have not love, we are nothing and gain nothing. Therefore, let’s love one another like Jesus with the Holy Spirit, for the glory and love for GOD who first loved us. AMEN
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