Tina Turner once sang, “What’s love got to do with it?” I would counter that love has everything to do with it.
As we continue to study the Book of James, he mentions the royal law (James 2:8). This law, he goes on to explain, is to love our neighbors as ourselves. In fact, he is just reminding us of what Jesus said in Matthew 22:36-40 when He was answering a question from a lawyer: “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?”And he (Jesus) said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” Paul tells us in his letter to the Corinthians, “Let all that you do be done in love.”
Letting all that we do be done in love doesn’t leave a lot of wiggle room. If we take Jesus’ command seriously and reflect on many of our choices, we may feel a bit overwhelmed. All that I do at home, at work, at play, in traffic on 75 South in the afternoons, at the drive-thru window when my order isn’t correct, when I feel betrayed by my friend or co-workers, even my family dynamics, we are to go beyond any rationalizations and respond in love.
This doesn’t stem from what is inside of us. In fact, responding in jealousy, anger, and a sense of entitlement is our normal response. Where we receive the power to respond as Jesus commands is when we recognize that in His great mercy, we didn’t receive what we deserved. Jesus responds in love to His enemies and asks us, no – commands us to do the same.
Christ died for all and that makes us all brothers and sisters in the body. Therefore, through the power of the Holy Spirit living within us, we can do everything in love and begin to love others as Jesus commands.