Two Devastating Failures

ALL – Psalm 75:1-10
ALL – Proverbs 12:12-14
OT – Deuteronomy 23:1-25:19
NT – Luke 10:13-37

Have you ever been on a bridge or narrow pathway so high that you could look over the edge on either side and know that a fall meant death?

Among Christians, one of the most inspirational thoughts in all of Scripture is known as the “double love command.” Jesus tells us that it summarizes all the Law and the Prophets (the OT). Here is one version of it, recorded by Luke:

“It says,” he replied, “that you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind. And you must love your neighbor just as much as you love yourself.” – Luke 10:27, The Living Bible

In this case, it was not said by Jesus, who responded:

“Do this and you shall live.” – Luke 10:28, The Living Bible

No one can measure up perfectly to this command. Even among those who seek to obey and fulfill these requirements, people usually make the mistake of obeying just ONE of the TWO commands given here.

Some people love God with all their hearts. They devote themselves completely to God, or so they think. They spend all their time reading their Bibles, praying, attending services, and helping with official church programs. If someone interrupts their service to God, that person gets set aside, left behind, left alone. But God says to these people, “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ yet hates (neglects, ignores) his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen” (1 John 4:20, NIV).

Other people really do a good job of loving people. They open up their homes, they share their food, they give cash to every beggar, they devote themselves to programs that help people to get out of poverty and homelessness and drugs. They always sympathize with people, always listen, always care, never judge. But these people often lay aside their Bibles, sweep sins (their own and other people’s) under the carpet, neglect to pray, think of Jesus as merely a good man, and worry that any spiritual discussion will hurt people’s feelings. To these people, God says, “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me” (John 14:21), and “…this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us” (1 John 3:23, NIV). Loving God is obeying God, and obeying God is believing in Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Neglecting our faith is just as destructive as neglecting our neighbors.

The double-love command is a united command. We are not to love God but hate our neighbors. Neither are we to love our neighbors but neglect God. We are to love God and to love our neighbors as ourselves.

We all fall short. We all struggle more either with loving God or with loving people (though, if we’re honest, we fall short in both). We sin. Which is why we praise God that Jesus Christ, His Son, died on the cross to provide forgiveness for our sins. There is grace for us, even as we fail in the two most important commands of all. But that grace is not intended to make us neglect the commands; instead, it strengthens us to stop wallowing in our failures and sins so that we can get up and grow in obedience and love. This requires humility and honesty. We must recognize our failure and call on our Lord for help.

Which side of the command do you struggle with most?

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