In Mark 12:28-31 one of the experts in the law, also known as scribes, asked Jesus what he thought was the most important command. Jesus responded,
“The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall 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: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
Jesus’ response is a quotation of two different Old Testament verses. The first half is Deuteronomy 6:4-5, which speaks of loving God with all our heart. The second command he quotes from Leviticus 19:18.
Ordering God’s Word Rightly
The order of Jesus’ answer is vital. Some try to equate the two commandments as essentially the same. Others skip the first one altogether. I remember hearing a talk at a Christian event where the leader of the organization said, “Jesus told us that the most important command is to love others.” I hoped my eyebrows weren’t the only ones raised in the room. That simply isn’t what Jesus said. In fact, that’s humanism. It’s attaching primary importance to humans rather than any divine or supernatural being.
Contrary to the humanistic misinterpretation of Christ’s words, Jesus’ whole response is incredibly God-centered. He starts with the doctrine that there’s one Lord of all and then teaches that the most important command is to love God more than anything or anyone. In fact, even loving others is a way of loving God, because when we obey God by loving others we show we love God (John 14:21). Additionally, Jesus says that if we care for the downtrodden then we’ve actually done those acts of kindness to Jesus himself (Matt. 25:35).
Jesus’ response clearly places love for God above loving others. Yet, his response also couldn’t be mistaken for mysticism, the belief that we are absorbed into God and therefore life on earth and interactions with others are meaningless. God tells us to love others because those people matter to God. People are made in his image and he wants us to love and value them like he does.
What’s at Stake
We must love others, but the order is paramount. If we don’t obey the first commandment we can’t obey the second as we should. 1 John 4:19 says, “We love because he first loved us.” Love for God must precede love for others. When we realize we are loved by God we will love him in return and that love overflows to others. When we love God most we love others best.
At the heart of true Christianity is love for God. If people are adhering to Christianity merely because they think it’s a helpful worldview or helps them love others then as soon as Christianity seems outdated or another system comes along that they think does the job better then they will jump ship. This is because they never truly loved God. They don’t say with Peter, “Lord to who else will we go?” But when we love Christ, and treasure him first, we will never be tempted to leave, and we will love people best. It’s easy to deconstruct a framework. It’s harder to deconstruct a longing and love for God and desire for others to know him.
We must take seriously the priorities Jesus set forth for us. We must love God first and foremost; with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. Then powered by his love for us let us strive to love others with a sacrificial love that only the love of God can supply.
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Mike McGregor
Mike McGregor (MDiv, Reformed Theological Seminary) is Director of College Ministry at First Baptist Church in Durham, N.C. You can follow him on Twitter at @m5mcgregor.
