SSMT Verse #1 Galatians 5:14

"For the entire law is fulfilled in one statement: Love your neighbor as yourself."- Galatians 5:14

At the end of last year, as I pondered what I wanted to focus on in 2015, I thought about my actions toward others.

The word "love" kept coming to mind... because I'm not always loving.

And this is never more apparent than the height of basketball season, at the beginning of another school semester.

As I was thinking of this word, I read a tweet from Beth Moore that listed this verse, and it hit me right in the gut.

Jesus came so that we could have life and have it more abundantly... and every action that we see Jesus takes come from love.

He even gave them  a  new commandment. 

"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another."- John 13:34

As I have loved you... loving through action. Through miracles.  The healing of the blind. The feeding of the 5,000.  The story of the prodigal son returning home...

all dealing with compassion, splagchnizomai, which means "to be moved as to one's bowels, hence to be moved with compassion, have compassion (for the bowels were thought to be the seat of love and pity)" Blue Letter Bible

He had pity on them, yes... but he moved out of love.

And as I thought of this "religion", and how it all hinges on Jesus, this verse clicked. 

Paul says it in 1 Corinthians... if we have not love, we have nothing.

Everything that we are supposed to do hinges on love.

Let's break it down:

For...gar... an affirmation... yes, this is so.

The entire... pas...each, every, all, any, the whole, everything... collectively.  All of it.  (Even, if you think about it, our laws today... think about crimes.  If we were loving people, murder and burglary and rape and bullying and slander wouldn't happen.)

law- nomos... any law whatsoever; Mosaic law: the Christian religion

is fulfilled... pleroo... to make full, fill up, fill to the full, render full, carry into effect, complete.

in one word... logos... speech, a word, what someone has said, a decree, mandate, doctrine, or teaching.

even in this: Love... agapao- to welcome, entertain, to be fond of, to love dearly, be full of; good will and to exhibit the same; to have preference for...

your neighbor...plesian- a neighbor, a friend, fellow man, any other man regardless of country or religion with whom we live or whom we chance to meet...

as yourself...  as you.  (And this is sometimes hard... you have to really love yourself and to be honest, sometimes this is something I struggle with).

Ok... now get this... before I focus on love, I have to look to Jesus.  The entire Mosaic law.. every commandment that God gave the Israelites, were a way to bring them into fellowship with Him, because He loved them.  These laws were impossible to keep.  Sin was still present... that's why they had the Day of Atonement and sacrifices.

But all of these laws were made complete (fulfilled) by one word (The Word... The Logos... The Word made flesh). 

With Jesus, we don't need anything else.

He has completed it. 

And our part of the bargain?

LOVE. 

Agapao love.  Preferring our brother or our sister or that hateful person in line behind you at Walmart.  Being fond of and exhibiting good will to others. Love dearly.

All we need is love...

Thank you, Lord, for Your love and for Your Son.  May His love be evident in each of us.  In Jesus's name- Amen