Deeper Reflection
JESUS COULD WELL HAVE STOPPED HIS ANSWER AT verse 38 when asked which was the great commandment. Yet the Lord chose, in His next breath, to enjoin it with a second commandment – “You shall love your neighbour as yourself” (v.39). Why did Jesus proceed to state the second commandment and join it together with the first, as it were, like Siamese twins? “On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets” (v.40).Truth be told, it is not easy to love God whom we cannot see. So how do we know whether we are really loving God? Jesus and John show us how we can ascertain this. Somehow, the way we love God (who is invisible) is reflected in the way we love people (who are visible). In other words, the quality of our relationships with other people reflects the quality of our relationship with God. How do you know whether you love God? By examining the quality of your relationships with other people to see whether you really love them, that is, love them as you love yourself.This is the final day of trying to “perceive” what the Lord might have been revealing to us over these past two pandemic years. If it is true (and we believe so) that how we relate with other people reveals the quality of our love for God, then it is necessary for us to examine how we have been relating to our family, friends, CG mates, colleagues, next-door neighbours and the foreigners in our land. Let us seek to grow in our love for God and people.