Love is a Verb

Leviticus 19:17-18 (ESV)You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason with your neighbor, lest you bear sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance or bear any grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.

When Jesus declared that the second great commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself, many Christians assume he was introducing something new. He was not. Jesus was quoting directly from Leviticus, and he was standing squarely within one of the deepest streams of Jewish teaching.

The great Rabbi Akiva called this verse "a great principle of Torah," meaning it was a key by which many other commandments should be understood. A generation earlier, the famous teacher Hillel told a student who asked him to summarize the entire law. He said, "What is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow. That is the whole Torah; the rest is commentary. Go and learn." These teachings were well established long before Jesus walked the earth.

Of course, knowing what we should do and actually doing it are two different things. The Jewish people did not always live up to this ideal, and neither have Christians. We are all works in progress.

What strikes me about this passage is that love is not presented as a feeling or a sentiment. It is active. Look at how verse 17 connects to verse 18. You shall not hate your brother in your heart, the text says, but you shall reason with your neighbor. The rabbis understood this to mean that silent resentment is a form of hatred. If you truly love someone, you don't let grievances fester. You address them honestly, but gently and privately, with the goal of restoration.

In our Wesleyan tradition, we talk about social holiness. Personal piety is not enough. Our faith must express itself in action toward others. Love your neighbor is not a suggestion or a nice idea. It is a command, and commands require obedience and action. Love, in the biblical sense, is a verb.

Our Father, forgive us for the times when we have let love remain only a word. Help us to act on the love you have commanded, to engage with our neighbors honestly and kindly, and to be doers of your word and not hearers only. Amen.

This devotional was written by Jim Stovall.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

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