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“You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.” - [Matthew 22:37-40]
Jesus said the “whole law” comes from two commandments of love: loving God and loving others. Surely, Jesus could have been referring to Jewish law, but since He called for commandments of love, I believe He is appealing to the natural law that resides within each one of us. The Old Testament and New Testament seem to support this.
“I will place my law within them, and write it upon their hearts” – [Jeremiah 31:33] Old Testament
“I will put my laws in their minds and I will write them upon their hearts.” – [Hebrews 8:10] New Testament
God places His law within our very hearts. Not that He is trying to impose on us. No, He is trying to help us. Why would God want to let us wander in sin not knowing right from wrong? God wants us to know the good. He wants us to choose the good, but one condition of love is choice. You have to be free to choose love. And so God lets us choose, but He tries His best to help us know the good choice.
And the first choice in loving others is to allow them the opportunity to love God and others. Killing is the utmost denier of others ability to love. This applies to abortion, capital punishment, euthanasia, eugenics, suicide, and unjust war (WWII being an example of a just war). Regardless if we believe that the other person has a capability of loving, we must first show love. We were not commanded to love those who love us, or to love those capable of love. We were commanded to love others as our self.
Another choice that rejects life is artificial contraception. In that, life is rejected and treated as though it is a problem. God is rejected because His great gift of sexuality is used purely for gratification, while His gift of life given through His great gift of sexuality. We tell God how He is going to bless us instead of letting Him bless us on His terms. And was it not Adam and Eve that first rejected God’s many gifts and took what was not theirs?
Is it controversial? Indeed, but are we willing to do it God’s way or our way. Adam and Eve choose their way and were expelled from the garden. Will we choose to be expelled from the garden as well?
Jesus, You choose love at all moments of Your earthly life. Help us to love You and our neighbors and to reject all temptations to deny God and others love.
