Love - The Greatest Commandment

When I was at Tabor, I did a research paper which identified and outlined the ‘centre’ of my personal theology for ministry. I remember asserting that "love" had to be the centre of any ministry and relationship. I collected a list of quotes (from the bible and books) on love, and the followings are some of them.

• Love is the very nature of God (1 Jn 4:8, 16) and the greatest of the Christian virtues (1 Cor 13:13), essential to human's relations to God and people (Mt 22:37-40; Mk 12:28-31; Jn 13:34-35). On it hangs all the law and the prophets (Mt 22:40). It is the fulfillment of the law (Rom 13:8-10). Love found its supreme expression in the self-sacrifice on Calvary (1 Jn 4:10). The Bible makes the unique revelation that God in His very nature and essence is love. God not only loves, He is love. In this supreme attribute all the other attributes are harmonized.
• God’s supreme command is ”Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength’, and `Love your neighbor as yourself." (Mk 12:30-31 NIV). We do it by choosing to love God and to love others. Love for God and love for people are the two great pillars of the Christian philosophy and practices. They are the ‘first two commandments of God’ (McGarrigle, 1962: 3).
• Love is the ultimate truth about God, the characteristic and attribute that sums up everything else and draw together all the aspects of His nature. God loves us. Love flows out of who God is (McClung, 1993: 36).
• The greatest idea ever to reveal from God to human beings is love. There is faith and hope and love, but the greatest of these is love (1 Cor 13:13).
• Jesus said, “love each other as I have loved you." (Jn 15:12). Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins” (1 Pet 4:8).
• C.S. Lewis thinks that God can awake in people, towards Himself, a supernatural appreciative love. This is of all gifts the most to be desired. This is not in our natural love, nor even in ethics, but the true center of all human beings. With this all things are possible (Lewis, 1977: 128).
• Love, generally, is that principle which leads one mortal person to desire and delight in another, and reaches its highest form in that personal fellowship in which each lives in the life of the other, and finds his / her joy in imparting himself / herself to the other, and in receiving back the outflow of the other’s affection unto himself / herself. Such is the love of God. (Peison, 1994: 23).
• We can demonstrate our love for God by living out our part of the Great Commission and bringing the Author of love Himself to our loved-starved planet. We can determine to love others like Jesus loves (Zschech, 2002: 36).

So which of the above quotes do you like most? And which can you identify with?