Thou Shalt Love Thy Neighbor . . .

 

From Wikipedia, attributed to Lorie Shaull

In a paraphrase of Reginald Garrigou-Langrange "God, His Existence and Nature":

Christians who believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God are intolerant in principle because they believe the Bible as inspired by God; they are tolerant in practice because they love their neighbors and wish to share God's love with them.

Verses I’ve used often in my blogs confirm the paraphrase:

Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.  (Matthew 22:35-40 KJV)

Notice it was a lawyer asking the question. An expert in the Mosaic law, the question was asked to objectively test or examine what Jesus would answer. Obviously, Jesus’ answer was accurate. Loving God is the first and greatest commandment. It is consistent throughout the Bible. All three Abrahamic religions hold to that truth – God is supreme and must be loved.

The next greatest, according to Jesus is to love our neighbors as ourselves. A few in each of the three Abrahamic religions have failed in that commandment to the extent they have left horrible footnotes in history and serve as very bad examples. Maybe they can be said to have loved because they hated themselves as badly as they’ve hated their neighbors. Without a doubt, they did not understand God’s love as shown in:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.  (John 3:16-19 KJV)

Memorize the whole, please. Do not omit that “he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” Jesus did not condemn sinners while He shared God’s word. Read the gospels – neither men nor women who were known to have broken God’s commandments were condemned by Christ. He acknowledged their sins. He knew them as well as He did the woman’s at the well, and could have described them as He did to her. However, He was here to offer salvation to whosoever.

That’s the message we need to give to our neighbors. Every one we meet is a neighbor, aren’t they? People we may never meet again?

Why are these two commandments so important? Jesus explains that all the other laws from God, all the prophecies He has given, and I believe our salvation, descend from these two acts of love.

Back to the paraphrase – these two great laws are inviolate to a Christian who believes in God. Both are required for Christians. That would be considered intolerant. Just as John 3:17 defines who is condemned, Matthew 22:30 demands that Christians love – and by other verses - pray salvation for non-Christians. That, too, would be considered intolerant. Believer’s  in God’s inspired messages to mankind in the Bible do seem intolerant of reaching God through other deities.

In reality, we seek to share His love, just as the Bible tells us to:

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. (Matthew 28:19-20 KJV)