And the Second Is

This is the Second

We don’t need to look long or far to know this world falls short of the Lord God’s original creation. School shootings, skyrocketing crime rates, wars, broken families, suicide—all that’s wrong strangles hope with a rope of fear and anxiety. Two simple commandments, if followed, would change the downward spiral of the world into all God created it to be.

“HEAR, O ISRAEL; THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE LORD: AND THOU SHALT LOVE THE LORD THY GOD WITH ALL THY HEART AND WITH ALL THY SOUL, AND WITH ALL THY MIND, AND WITH ALL THY STRENGTH: this is the first commandment.

And the second is like, namely this,

THOU SHALT LOVE THY NEIGHBOUR AS THYSELF.

There is none other commandment greater than these.”

Mark 12:29,30, KJV

We discussed, in previous posts, the need to love God before tackling the second commandment. But I believe you will agree when we plant these two commandments in our hearts and minds, a new world results. For—

“Love worketh no ill to his neighbour:

therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.”

Romans 13:10,KJV

Loving another doesn’t allow for—

• giving yourself to one who is not your spouse,
• murder,
• stealing,
• lying,
• or longing for anything with such passion as to gain it at the expense of another—

and this is a brief list of what obeying the second commandment would eliminate from this world. We are warned—

“If ye bite and devour one another,

take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.”

Galatians 5:14, KJV

When we act like animals toward one another, we all lose. We’ve come to this point because we love others like we love ourselves, which is not love at all.

We place our worth in our—

• success as seen by others,
• accumulation of riches,
• power,
• fame,
• education,
• and the world’s accolades—

instead of in the worth God gives us through the love he shows in sacrificing his Son.

“Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us,

that we should be called the sons of God:

therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.”

1 John 3:1, KJV

Realizing the depth of our heavenly Father’s love gives reason to love ourselves with all our flaws—for God does. Knowing his love, empowers us to transfer his love to ourselves and enables us to love others as God loves us. As Jesus came to show the practical love of the Father, choosing not to please himself but his Father and serve life to those who believe in him, we now can love others in the same way. We are admonished to—

“Let every one of us please his neighbour

for his good to edification.”

Romans 15:2, KJV

My paraphrase: Let us do that which serves the good of our neighbor.

Yes, obeying these two commandments would change the world. Let’s start with our little corner, and see whose world the Lord will change through our loving others as he has loved us.