Preaching goodness: Love

Love is the foundation of the New Covenant God made with people in His Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, who gave His life for us. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends. (John 15:13). In the Mosaic Law, as well as in many other religions, the main thing is to do good, to fulfil the commandments. But the spirit of the New Testament is qualitatively different - love, which is above the law. In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. (Gal 5:22-23). 

It is God's will that when we do good, we thank God for His love for us and fulfil His commandments. and one of them [a scholar of the law] tested him by asking, "Teacher, 21 which commandment in the law is the greatest?" He said to him, "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." (Matt 22:35-40)

The law and the prophets are founded on commandments based on love for God and neighbour, but it was only in Jesus Christ that perfect love was perfectly revealed. For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. (John 3:16). God and love are identical. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love. (1 John 4:8). And those who believe in God abide in this holy love. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another. No one has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us. (1 John 4:11-12). 

How can we learn to love our neighbour? For without the little we cannot have the greater. Without learning to love our neighbour, how can we abide in the love of the Lord?

At that time the disciples approached Jesus and said, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said, "Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me. "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. (Matt 18:1-6).

Here is the wisdom that reveals love of neighbour: humbles himself like this child .... and whoever receives one child like that. When you see children of God in your neighbours, you treat them as children. Joy and love are what we feel when we see children.

Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked them, but Jesus said, "Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." (Matt 19, 13-14)

Love of neighbour is revealed in the love of children. The birth of a neighbour in the Holy Spirit is a grace that brings tears of joy after long wandering and suffering. We love because we know how much God loves us and how difficult it is for a person to be born again: I will intensify the pangs of your childbearing; in pain shall you bring forth children. (Gen 3:16). Jesus said: Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices; you will grieve, but your grief will become joy. When a woman is in labor, she is in anguish because her hour has arrived; but when she has given birth to a child, she no longer remembers the pain because of her joy that a child has been born into the world. (John 16:20-21).

As you live in love with the Lord, you love His children, your brothers and sisters. Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is begotten by God, and everyone who loves the father loves (also) the one begotten by him. In this way we know that we love the children of God when we love God and obey his commandments. For the love of God is this, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome (1 Ин 5, 1-3).

It is natural for us to love our neighbours as children. Since no one can tell us or show us the moment when he/she became an adult from a child. When a child asks for food, is there much doubt in our heart and answers to the questions: feed? help? earned? punished? And the Lord shows us, who constantly turn away from Him, His love for His children: Instead of this, you nourished your people with food of angels and furnished them bread from heaven, ready to hand, untoiled-for, endowed with all delights and conforming to every taste. For this substance of yours revealed your sweetness toward your children, and serving the desire of him who received it, was blended to whatever flavor each one wished. (Wisd 16:20-21)

When you look at your neighbour as a child, you see his kind deeds, you help him to pass the trials, you thank the Lord and you have no time and attention for evil. For as I see it, God has exhibited us apostles as the last of all, like people sentenced to death, since we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels and human beings alike. We are fools on Christ's account, but you are wise in Christ; we are weak, but you are strong; you are held in honor, but we in disrepute. To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are poorly clad and roughly treated, we wander about homeless and we toil, working with our own hands. When ridiculed, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we respond gently. We have become like the world's rubbish, the scum of all, to this very moment. I am writing you this not to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children. (1 Cor 4:9-14).

Love people like children and be loved!