Our love for God is not real if we do not love our neighbor, and our love for our neighbor is not real if we do not love God.

Thursday, 6/7/12

A scribe asked Jesus what was the greatest commandment, and Jesus answered, “Hear, O Israel, the Lord is God, the Lord alone.” Then, Jesus went on to say, “The second is this: you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

The scribe then praised Jesus, repeating his words, but he changed them around, turning the two commandments into one, so that he was combining loving God with loving the neighbor. Noting that difference in the scribe’s answer, Jesus praised the man for uncovering a double truth; namely, that our love for God is not real if we do not love our neighbor, and our love for our neighbor is not real love if we do not love God.

It is as though all along Jesus had been hoping that someone would grasp that point. It is central to Christian morality. After getting the answer he had looked for, he no longer exchanged words with the scribes and Pharisees.