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The essence of the Lord is love. The entirety of His being, character and work is based on the enormity of His love. Love is synonymous with who and what He is. It is impossible to separate Him from love for where love (agape love) is manifest, He has to be present. Aside from His presence, His gentle, compassionate love does not exist. 1 John 4:8 Human love, is love only in name, when compared to His love. It is not, nor can it be, even beginning to be equal to His love. Human love is of an entirely different temperament, it is of this world and not eternal, nor spiritual as is His love. This is the first commandment. Mk. 12:31.
Anyone can claim to know God and His love but there must be a living evidence made manifest in one making such a claim. Jesus proclaimed, love for the Lord, as the identifying evidence of the presence of the Lord. A divided heart, a divided love cannot be accepted by the Lord. Our love for Him is to be an absolute, totally unconditional. Jesus said that it was to be with the whole, the total being, the complete heart, soul, mind and strength. Luke 10:27.
It is not difficult to love the Lord who has done, is doing and will continue to do so much for us. The scriptures declare that He daily loads us with benefits. Ps. 68:19 And He surely does. However there is an acid test and that is our reaction to others in this life. Jesus called them neighbors with the intent of indicating not only those in our immediate neighborhood, but every person, all of mankind. He then gave them a parable which illustrated the fact that all are to be considered as those in need of help and are to be helped. Lk. 10:30-36.
The second commandment is the witness of obedience to the first.
Love, particularly, the love of the Lord will produce a harvest of love.
Jesus declared that there is no greater commandments to be found but these which are based on our love for the Lord. The whole of true Christianity is founded on these two commandments, without them there is absolutely nothing but a name and an empty shell. Our acquaintance with the Lord is made known by the love which we manifest, toward Him and especially toward others. John stated it in a most straightforward, blunt manner. He said; “ Whoever does not love does not know God.” 1 John 4:3 That trims it down to a matter of know and manifest, or not manifest and it becomes a witness that the individual does not know the Lord. Really clear cut, is it not.