Love God & Love Others - Natalie Lancaster

Love God & Love Others

Love God & love others. 

This phrase has lived on constant repeat in my head over the past several months, and that makes sense. In Jesus’ ministry, He gave these commands as a culmination of all of the Old Testament law. Love God. Love other people. It’s a beautiful command that Jesus calls us to, and it’s what we often call the golden rule. 

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:36-40) 

I love it. And I think about it oh so often. The part about this that intrigues me the most is the practical application of what this love looks like. Jesus calls us to a deeper love than the world gives. This love is sacrificial and from a generous heart rather than out of obligation. This love is without condition and does not expect anything in return. This love is in response to the fact that God loved us, and it is to be delighted in, rather than dreaded. The call of this love is placed upon us as if we were in debt to our neighbors in love–that there is no limit to be exercised in our display of this love as far as it depends on the resources we have. In Romans 13:8, Paul exhorts the Roman church to “owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law."

Did you get that? It is love that fulfills the law. It is through the greatest display of love that Jesus Christ would die on the cross as a perfect sacrifice for sinners to be reconciled to a holy God. And this is the same intensity of love that we are called to. Is it easy? Absolutely not. But is it worth it? Definitely. 

The Fellowship is a beautiful example of loving the people around you without hindrance, without pride, and without seeking anything in return. It’s not something you have to do in the Fellowship–it’s a choice (but you probably won’t get a lot out of the Fellowship if you don’t). We get the opportunity to love each other deeply by engaging in deep community, making memories, and building each other up as we work and live together. But this call to love each other also calls us to have hard, sanctifying conversations as we seek to call out our brothers & sisters in sin. It means that we bear each other's burdens in prayer and accountability. We sacrifice our pride, our time, and our own desires in order to love the people around us in the way that Jesus calls us to love. 

It’s a beautiful thing to witness. And it can be a hard thing to put into practice. We all fall short in this pursuit daily, but the beauty of practicing this call of God upon our lives within the Fellowship means that we do not fail in this on our own. We can lean upon the brothers & sisters around us to call out our sin, remind us of the Gospel, and forgive our transgressions. It is within this community that we can walk towards this kind of love together. And oh, how grateful I am for that. 

So love God. Love other people. And do that in community with the people around you! 

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