Love Above All

Jesus declared, “‘ ‘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 22:37–40


When Jesus was asked to name the greatest commandment, He gave not one but two—binding love for God and love for neighbor so closely that they could not be separated. These words cut through the noise of competing loyalties and ideological divisions. In times of social fracture, when allegiances are demanded by political tribes and cultural factions, this passage calls us back to the core of our faith. Love for God is not simply a warm feeling; it is a complete surrender of our heart, soul, and mind to His ways. Love for neighbor is not merely polite tolerance; it is an active, selfless care that mirrors the love God shows us.

To live with love above all means allowing God’s love to order everything else—to reorient our priorities, purify our motives, and soften our hearts toward others. When love becomes the foundation of both devotion and action, we see people not as opponents but as fellow travelers made in God’s image. This love refuses to let differences have the final word. It moves us toward reconciliation, challenges our pride, and keeps us anchored in the heart of the Gospel.

Are we willing to let love be the measure of every conversation and every choice we make? In what ways might we be loving our ideologies or affiliations more than we love God and neighbor? How can you embody both loves today—one directed upward in devotion to God and one outward in compassion for others?

Today, consider one practical way to demonstrate love for God—perhaps through worship, obedience, or prayer—and one concrete way to show love for your neighbor, especially someone whose views differ from yours. In living out both loves together, we become witnesses to a Kingdom that transcends human divisions.


Loving Father,

Help me to love You with every part of who I am—my heart, my soul, and my mind. Teach me to see my neighbor through Your eyes, to love with the same grace and patience that You have shown me. Keep me from letting fear, pride, or division dull my love, and make me an instrument of Your peace.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

-

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