- From Matthew 5
The greatest of these is love.
Jesus wrapped up the Law and the Prophets, and the culmination of the Scriptural Era of history (and the launch of the long prelude to His Second Coming), with these words.
What the Lord names as "the greatest" of anything must be noteworthy. Pay attention. It's important.
There are long lists of virtues scattered throughout both testaments. The Old Testament puts it all in very plain terms:
- Care for widows and orphans
- Welcome strangers to your community
- Live in purity
That's pretty much all of it. Some people emphasize one of the three points. Some manage two of them. Most people talk a lot about one or two of them, particularly in the context of heated political rhetoric. But few people actually attempt to practice any of them. And it's nearly impossible for find a person that has mastered all three.
The rest of the Bible is full of anecdotes and lessons, that portray the practice of these virtuous attitudes and lifestyles. But it can get tedious trying to understand all of the nuances and exceptions. How do you practice purity while also accepting strangers unconditionally?
Enter Christ, with His summation: The Greatest is Love.
Love means putting others first. It means listening to them.
Of course, the person that loves fully places him or herself in a vulnerable position. Love is patient and long-suffering. It means putting up with some mistreatment. It means denying even some of your own self, in order to have peace and stability (making others safe is an act of love).
Of course, you wish the others would reciprocate. But don't count on it.
The Jackie DeShannon song said "What the World Needs Now is Love. It's the only thing, that there's just too little of."
Yesterday, I was discussing this topic on-line, with a stranger. I said that we need to build bridges to everybody. She was countering with the refrain, that you can't build bridges to racists. My reply was that we have to try, and keep trying. What do we think made them racist in the first place?
If it weren't racism, it would be something else. Love is hard. It's brutal. And we try to find ways out of it. But if it were easy it wouldn't be so precious.
The person that loves fully does not have to worry about judging others. You just treat them all the same. And you notice the person right there before you. Love isn't screaming F-bombs in someone's face.
It's so rare, it might be hard to recognize, if it weren't exactly what we all need more of.
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