Christ's Commandments: The Greatest Commandment; Love

"This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you." John 15:12

"Greater love hath no man than this..."

The courts of temple were fuller than usual. People normally gathered whenever Jesus Christ was reaching, but this gathering was different. The Jews gathered together, not only to see the rumored messiah, but also to hear the furious accusations of the Pharisees, who were determined to destroy Him.

Their plan was simple, if they asked Jesus Christ some of their most controversial questions, they could get Him to offend part of the crowd and turn the people against Him. Their plan would have succeeded against any other man, but Christ was wiser than all of them. "Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites?" He asked.

Perhaps we should be thankful for their questions. Their every accusation opened the savior's store of wisdom yet again. Finally frustrated, one Pharisee asked, "Master, Which is the great commandment in the law?" Rather than study the commandments to grow closer to God, they studied to discover loopholes in them. The idea of the commandments having a hierarchy of importance where some could be ignored, appealed to the Pharisees.

Christ's answer still rings across the ages. "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." In this thirty second sermon, Jesus Christ established the perfect summary of what God expects of us. The commandments weren't just rules anymore, they were a means to an end. That end is love.

Love is the End and the Beginning of the Commandments

Jesus Christ taught that love was the principle which upheld all of the commandments. Whoever loved God the most would obey His commandments the most. An increase in obedience to the commandments gives us greater love for God, which in turn gives us more of a desire to obey. Thus, if we increase our obedience to the commandments, we will create a self-fueling desire to improve our lives, escape destructive habits, and maintain happiness no matter what our circumstances may be.

Beyond increasing our love for God, God will fill our lives with blessings if we are obedient. The Book of Mormon teaches this principle best: "I say unto you that if ye should serve him who has created you from the beginning, and is preserving you from day to day, by lending you breath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own will, and even supporting you from one moment to another—I say, if ye should serve him with all your whole souls yet ye would be unprofitable servants. And behold, all that he requires of you is to keep his commandments; and he has promised you that if ye would keep his commandments ye should prosper in the land; and he never doth vary from that which he hath said; therefore, if ye do keep his commandments he doth bless you and prosper you." We can see from the scriptures that God rewards us far beyond what we 'earn' through obedience.

To love God with all of our effort and to love men like ourselves is difficult, but essential if we want to experience the blessings God has in store for us. The importance of charity (the pure love of Christ) is expressed by Paul in the Holy Bible. "Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing."

"Our love grows as the commandments color who we are

In short, the commandments are all about love. Our love for God and our neighbor will naturally lead us to apply the commandments to our lives. As long as we're seeking to increase in love and understanding, we will draw closer and closer to achieving all of God's commandments.

I have experienced this love in my life already. I know that God has been good to me and he has blessed me for the commandments I have already mastered. I know that He is supporting me day by day and He will continue to support me, even until the day I pass from this life and see his face, and know that He is my God and my Heavenly Father.