by Darlene N. Böcek
Sometimes we forget that God made the world. What I mean is this: we imagine the Creator calling light into existence, then making planets and stars, the earth, trees, and animals, then man, and on the seventh day he rested. But we forget he made the world.
We, as human beings created after God's image, are creators. We make things, but we don’t “just” make them, we plan, prepare, and consider. In these days of pandemic, many people are doing home makeovers, finishing half-done craft projects, sewing masks, or knitting. Craft stores are considered essential services!
When we plan a painting, we think about what we want it to look like—a still life, a loved one’s portrait, an animal, a scene. We decide on perspective, focal point, media. Will it be oil, acrylic, or watercolor? We choose colors, brushes, and the canvas.... you get my point. Then we sketch it. No matter what we are making, the way we create matches this pattern.
We plan before we create because we take after our Creator, the master planner. The intricacies of DNA showcase the master planner’s thought process: “They will replicate after their kind,” he thought. He made DNA, then he commanded, “replicate after your kind. Fill the earth and subdue it” (Gen 1:28). The command was simple to complete because obedience was built into the structure of the creature.
The Big Plan and Love’s Part
When we think of the command “love one another,” we must see this in light of the whole of Scripture, in light of the PURPOSE and PLAN of God for making the world. He thought it ALL out.
Here is that plan:
"In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.
In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory” (Eph 1:7-12, emphasis mine).
Clearly, God created the world to demonstrate the depth and extent of his love through Christ and to teach the world about that love through the Church.
Trinity of Love Verses
Love one another is the third of a trinity of love verses that highlight God’s love. Love God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength, love your neighbor (including your enemy) as yourself, and love one another.
Two of these commands to love are built into the fabric of humanity. God’s great PLAN AND PURPOSE for the world, for the tree in the garden, for suffering to be here, was bracketed by the duo of love commands, written on the heart of each human being, then grown and nurtured by a family setting. All would emphasize a focal point.
The presence of religion worldwide evidences the love of God. The identity of God being clearly manifest, mankind is without excuse. Worship of God is required, so we find a day of sabbath worship practiced by all nations since the time of Noah. [1] A basic knowledge of the holy settles a fear of eternal judgment onto the conscience (Romans 1) and religion proceeds from this built-in universal fear.
Interestingly, however, "love your neighbor" is also built into every religion in the world. Compassion is part of being human; “inhumane” means having no compassion.
[1] The Sabbath Viewed in the Light of Reason, Revelation, and History (Rev James Gilfillan, 1862), Evidence from History for a Weekly Day, p.359-455.
Two Gifts of Love Given to a Broken World
Loving God impels us to hone-in on knowing him fully, which impacts our ethical behavior. Loving our neighbor teaches us to look outwardly and set aside our own needs for the sake of others. Instead of stepping on the low, as self-serving beasts would, it changes the physics of relationships, lifting the down and out.
Likewise, loving your neighbor is the watchword of modern humanism. Sadly, pagans morph these two commands into loving man and loving other gods (ie: Mother Earth). Protecting the planet or defending rights often takes the spotlight and becomes the new command in place of loving God. While caring for the earth and subduing it was Adam’s job, and while we must be good stewards of his kind gifts, there is no “love the earth” command given in Scripture. Loving any other god or deifying mankind or their thought-systems is idolatry. And without a finely tuned fear of the one true God, it becomes the excuse behind abortion and euthanasia.
Built into humanity and dispersed through the vehicle of culture and family is loving God and loving our fellow man. Humane compassion helps with this broken world.
The pinnacle of God’s love plan, however, is the command for the Church to love one another. Before the creation of the world, God intended for there to be a Church. His people would be a light in the darkness. His people would love one another, in Christ.
Ultimate Gift to the World: Love One Another
Jesus said, “A new command I give you, love one another.” It was new. Through Christ, the many became unified, not under nationhood, race, or tribe—as Israel had been—but under the banner of love for Christ. Through this final love command, God emphasizes the focal point of all history: Jesus Christ, our loving Redeemer. “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:34-35).
It is after this command we find the believers praying together in the upper room, where the Spirit fills them. We find the believers together praying for the release of Peter, when he comes knocking on the gate—and Rhoda the servant girl has her moment of fame. We find believers together begging Paul, pleading with him with tears to not go to Jerusalem. The bond made by the blood of Christ turns individual-minded believers into a body, a unified single-minded body of Christ. “Let this mind be in you” (Phil 2:5) begins.
Love one another is the missing ingredient, the ultimate gift to the world. “… so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me” (John 17:23, emphasis mine). This is part of the mystery hidden, then revealed. No longer every man for himself, but “brothers dwelling together in unity,” as David had prophesied.
Love one another is a “new” command because we finally UNDERSTAND the mercy of God through the death, atonement, and resurrection of Christ. We are forgiven, fully, so we don’t have to fight for our rights. Instead we set aside selfish desires in order for Christ to be exalted in our lives (Phil 2:1-111). God conforms a remnant of mankind into his holy people. “Behold what manner of love the Father has given unto us that we might be called the sons of God” (1 John 3:1).
As Christ said, loving God and loving our neighbor/enemy encapsulate the Law and the prophets (the Ten Commandments). But to these Christ added the final love command: the gospel of grace, summarized in loving one another. Loving fellow church members is loving Christ. This is a uniquely New Testament concept. “New.”
Loving One Another Honors the Triune God
Within the church there are “tares,” or not-actually-saved people, and there are saved people, who wrestle with sin with varying levels of success. Ultimately, two groups within the visible church: wheat and tares. Only by the empowering Spirit of God can we love both, including those hurtful hypocrites and sinners amongst us. Recall: DNA enables all creation to obey the replicate command. The Spirit abides in us, fostering and enabling this very sacrificial love. Abiding in Christ yields love in all its holy fruit flavors (Gal 5:22-23). By loving those He loves, we prove we are Christ’s disciples. By setting aside self-love and loving one another, the love of God becomes the focal point and purpose of our lives.
In all this, loving one another delights the triune God:
❤️Christ is pleased, for he so dearly loved the Church that he died for each and all, and by loving each other we show honor and kindness to the Church he so loves.
❤️The Spirit delights when a Christ-loving Church bonds together in self-sacrificial love and calls those who thirst to come to Christ.
❤️Since our Father God created this world in order to reveal his own abundant love, we honor him when we likewise exhibit the love he gives: a Christ-exalting bond of unity.
God’s great plan for this world culminates in our loving one another. From Genesis to Revelation we see the world moving through law and prophets to grace. A garden, a tree, a cross, then a Lamb on the Throne surrounded by unified song of those who treasure him.
All eyes on Christ. All eyes amazed by grace. Unified love within the Church spotlights Christ’s love for his Bride, and draws all eyes onto the extent of God’s love— an all-forgiving, freely given, and overwhelmingly beautiful love.
Darlene N. Böcek is the author of Trunk of Scrolls, and the upcoming Christian Sci-Fi Pogland trilogy. Her writing has been featured in Modern Reformation Magazine and translated into many languages. She is a pastor’s wife in Izmir, Turkey. You can follow her on Facebook or Instagram, or see other Bible studies and writings on http://darlenenbocek.com
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