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The Short Commandment 

The Short Commandment 

March 19, 2020 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - love, Martin Luther, spirituality

Jesus commanded you to love (Mark 12:31). Paul said that if you do not have love, you are nothing (1 Cor 13:2). And John said “We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death” (1 John 3:14).

Love is key, but what does it mean to love?

Think on this quote from Martin Luther, showing that the greatest commandment is both simple and complex:

This commandment of love is a short commandment and a long commandment; it is one single commandment and many commandments; it is no commandment at all and it is all commandments. That is, it is short and one in itself, and as far as the intellect is concerned, one grasps it quickly. But it is long and many from the point of view of practice, because it encompasses all commandments, being the master commandment. Furthermore, it is no commandment at all if one thinks about works, because there is no one single particular work related to it. However, it is all commandments, because the works of all commandments are, and must be, works of this commandment. Thus, the commandment of love annihilates all commandments and yet establishes them all (Quoted in Mannermaa, Two Kinds of Love, p. 68).

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Shawn_L

by Shawn Lazar

Shawn Lazar (BTh, McGill; MA, VU Amsterdam) was the Editor of Grace in Focus magazine and Director of Publications for Grace Evangelical Society from May 2012 through June 2022. He and his wife Abby have three children. He has written several books including: Beyond Doubt: How to Be Sure of Your Salvation and Chosen to Serve: Why Divine Election Is to Service, Not to Eternal Life.

If you wish to ask a question about a given blog, email us your question at ges@faithalone.org.

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