The scripture is unequivocal - love is the first and greatest commandment. Walking in love is obedience and for the children of God, love should be paramount for us. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Many times when we show love, it is conditional. Conditional love is not total love. Total love is love that is worth dying for. The greatest commandment that God has given is for us to love each other. This commandment of love is emphasized throughout the scriptures. What is Total Love? Total love is love that is sincere. This love is illustrated in the love that God has given, and continues to give us. God showed this love when He sent his son into the world so that we may live through him.
Total love is:
- Unfeigned; it is genuine
- Impartial; it is not giving expecting for something in return
- Real; it comes from the heart
- Divine; it is self-giving love
- Unending; it is not seasonal, but constant.
In addition, total love has no color, has no strings attached it, and is not carnal. Total love should not be mistaken for lust. When one shows love towards another person, it does not imply that he or she has physical desires for the person to whom love is shown. As stated in 1st John 4, "Whoever does not love does not know God, because, God is love." In addition, 1st Peter 4 states, "love covers a multitude of sins". This means that to live and enjoy the blessings of life, each of us needs to operate in love.
Our first love is towards God, this love should be love with all our heart, soul and mind - Matthew 22:39. The second greatest commandment is that we love our neighbors as ourselves. This implies that when we do not show love towards our neighbors we actually do not love ourselves. Some of us in church have become selfish; we may give gifts to friends and offer help to neighbors expecting to get their favor. That is not true love as we have been commanded. Some of us may want to serve in a ministry or department in Church, but so as not to come in contact with some people, some however decide not to. This is not love. Sadly, we have become a loveless generation. If we loved one another, we would be our brother's keeper. We need to treat each other in love. Demonstrating this love also involves showing respect to each other.
It is not surprising that some do not show total love, this has been foretold about the last days in which we live. The Godless behavior of the last days is described in 2nd Timothy 3. If we had the love of God in our hearts, we would be constrained from committing many acts of disobedience including being unloving. Love is not a thought, but an action. God loved the world and gave us Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ in love traveled from city to city to teaching about the Kingdom of God. He couldn't have accomplished this task by remaining in one location, love caused Him to act.
Showing total love should not be determined by what the recipients may have done or failed to do to us. We show love to all because it is the command of God. This is how God dealt with us because in spite of the many sins we have committed, God continue to show us love. If God shows us love despite of our past miss-behaviors, why can't we too show this love towards our neighbors? Obeying God's commandment of loving one another shows that we are children of God, and that we love God. Let us love each other as God loves us.
