Joined at the Hip
“And a second is like it, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” Matthew 22:39 NASB
Is like it – Most Christians can recall Yeshua’s declaration of the two great commandments. They might not know that both come from Deuteronomy or that the first one is part of the daily Shema, but they know the Yeshua said these two are the basis of all the Law. Unfortunately, they don’t often recognize this little connecting phrase, homoia aute (like to it). That means most believers think of these two commandments, “To love God with all . . .” and “To love your neighbor,” as if they are separate requirements, independent of each other. But this isn’t what Yeshua says. The Greek construction suggests that the second statement is of the same nature as the first. In other words, loving your neighbor has characteristics that are equivalent to loving God.
If you are going to love God with all your heart, mind and resources, then that love will be expressed as love for your neighbor. If you do not treat your neighbor in ways that promote his or her well-being, then ipso facto you do not love God. James says the same when he reminds his readers that no man who despises his brother can love God. Rabbi Akiva concurred when he said that all of the rest of Scripture is commentary on the love of your neighbor. You cannot disconnect these two and expect to enjoy fellowship with the Father. No man can have a relationship with God and at the same time refuse benevolence toward another at cost to himself. Following Yeshua means selflessness.
This connection has profound implications for our understanding of the commandments, all of the commandments. Akiva directed our attention to the fact that the purpose of fulfilling the mitzvot (the instructions for living) is to draw closer to God by acting righteously toward others. Every commandment is an opportunity to express my love for the Father by applying His love toward my neighbor. In the process, I harness the yetzer ha’ra in the service of the good. I domesticate the powerful desire of the yetzer ha’ra, a desire that is essential to my very existence, by directing my desire toward God’s objectives, namely, the care of another. If you want control of the urges of the yetzer ha’ra, practice Torah directly toward the benefit of another. In this way you train and strengthen the yetzer ha’tov until fulfilling the commandments becomes the automatic way of thinking about life.
Every temptation to act selfishly, to fulfill only my desires without regard to others, can be redirected toward God’s good. That’s why caring for my neighbor is essential. In other words, every time I act with love toward my neighbor I am also fulfilling one of the “all” requirements of the first great commandment. Yeshua provided us with far more than a theoretical understanding of loving God with all. He gave us a completely practical way of making that happen. Now the only question is this: are these two commandments joined at the hip for you?
Topical Index: is like it, homoia aute, second commandment, Matthew 22:39
PLEASE NOTE: I will be out of the country for the next week. If you wish to order any materials that need to be shipped, you must order by 3PM Eastern time TODAY or wait for awhile. Thanks. Skip
One (LOVE)
my old master Bono
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKoj4iou9yQ&feature=related
Is it getting better, or do you feel the same?
Will it make it easier on you, now you got someone to blame?
You say one love, one life, when it’s one need in the night.
One love, we get to share it
Leaves you baby if you don’t care for it.
Did I disappoint you or leave a bad taste in your mouth?
You act like you never had love and you want me to go without.
Well, it’s too late tonight to drag the past out into the light.
We’re one, but we’re not the same.
We get to carry each other, carry each other… one
Have you come here for forgiveness,
Have you come to raise the dead
Have you come here to play Jesus to the lepers in your head
Did I ask too much, more than a lot
You gave me nothing, now it’s all I got.
We’re one, but we’re not the same.
Well, we hurt each other, then we do it again.
You say love is a temple, love a higher law
Love is a temple, love the higher law.
You ask me to enter, but then you make me crawl
And I can’t be holding on to what you got, when all you got is hurt.
One love, one blood, one life, you got to do what you should.
One life with each other: sisters, brothers.
One life, but we’re not the same.
We get to carry each other, carry each other.
One, one.
Michael, i don’t understand – can you explain the song or why you posted it – when i was listening to the song & reading the comments – the comments say it is not U2/Bono singing this song – did you know that or do you know it really is U2/Bono… jan
“the comments say it is not U2/Bono singing this song”
Hi Jan,
Sorry about that; thought I tested it, but must have copied the wrong url
Hopefully the one below is Bono:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgZ4ammawyI&feature=related
Well I posted it because for me the song conveys the same meaning as Skip’s message
For example, the singer says: “You gave me nothing, now it’s all I got”
For me God gives us “nothing” of himself, but in the end it is all we’ve got
The singer says:
“You say love is a temple, love a higher law
Love is a temple, love the higher law.
You ask me to enter, but then you make me crawl
And I can’t be holding on to what you got, when all you got is hurt.”
In my view, we want to enter the temple of love
Because love is the highest law
But love makes us vulnerable, and our loved ones must die
When our loved ones die, all we’ve got is hurt
The singer says: One love, one blood, one life, you got to do what you should
I tend to believe in one thing, that there is one love and it leads to God
And the Master (Yeshua) taught us to love one another
So does Bono 🙂
Good morning Michael – at least it is morning 4 me… ♥
in your 1st post you refer to Bono as your “old master” as if he is a god or your god – he is a man; perhaps & hopefully a man of GOD because you respect him so much… i do not know him nor am i familiar with his music/songs/lyrics…
and thank you very much for responding to my post & posting what you did the 1st time & answering my questions all the time – it is very much appreciated because most of the time your perspective or perception on things is so much different than mine & i seek to understand…
i truly don’t know how you can say, “For me God gives us “nothing” of himself” – HE/GOD gives me everything in life that i need & especially Himself because that is what He came for – US & to give us life more abundantly which is Himself) maybe not what i want but what i need for sure & most of the time what i want – especially if it lines up with His will – which in all honesty is what i want – is His will for my life & everything of Himself – his scripture/WORD states, “if we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us.”
perhaps we should do with our grief for loved ones that die what David did with his grief over a baby that died – that when we have travailed & grieved – we are to stand up & brush ourselves off & move/go on in life – there is no fruit or life in the continuing of grief of a loved one’s death – that is not living 4 sure…
i don’t know so much about Bono being compared to GOD or your master – but i would rather look to the scriptures instead of a song for whence cometh my help – no man can give me what God gives me on a daily basis…
also thank you for the new link – enjoyed seeing the buffalo – they are rare to see…
the song makes me sad but there is surely some truth in it –
We’re one, but we’re not the same.
We get to carry each other, carry each other… one [jan] i agree none of us are the same but we are one in HIM – HE made us all unique but only One in him & in marriage which is the mystery the scriptures state…
love is not a temple – LOVE IS A PERSON || GOD || JESUS || HOLY SPIRIT
You say love is a temple, love a higher law
Love is a temple, love the higher law.
You ask me to enter, but then you make me crawl
And I can’t be holding on to what you got, when all you got is hurt. THIS IS TRUE FOR ANY PERSON THAT IS STILL HOLDING ON TO GRIEF & HURT OF A LOVED ONE DYING – IT DOES NOT PRODUCE LIFE BUT DEATH – IT MAKES YOU CRAWL BUT IF YOU ARE GOING TO CRAWL – CRAWL TO JESUS & LET HIM LIFT YOU UP
i myself would rather put my eyes on GODS WORDS (instead of Bono’s) much more life, love, truth & not so much sadness – the truth will set you/people free not a song by Bono (sorry Bono i’m sure you would agree)…
LORD JESUS, WHAT EVER IS GRIEVING & HURTING MY BROTHER MICHAEL – LET HIM WALK OR CRAWL TO THE FOOT OF THE CROSS WHERE HE CAN “LIFT UP HIS HEAD” TO SEE WHERE YOU ONCE HUNG & NOW LIVE FOR HIS HEALING & DELIVERANCE – THAT HE MAY LIVE IN YOUR JOY FOR HIM & NO LONGER STAY IN THIS STATE OF GRIEVING FOR LOVED ONES THAT HAVE PASSED – GIVE MICHAEL LIFE THAT IS WORTH LIVING IN YOU – LORD JESUS BE THE LIFTER OF HIS HEAD THAT HE MAY SEE YOUR GLORY & NEVER AGAIN FEEL THAT YOU HAVE GIVEN NOTHING OF YOURSELF – HAVE MERCY ON HIS DOWNTRODDEN SPIRIT & TEACH HIM RELATIONSHIP WITH YOU – UP CLOSE & PERSONAL LIKE NEVER BEFORE…
to be perfectly honest & truthful with you – i feel this song is an affront to the cross & what JESUS did for all of us there – HE DIED & HE ROSE AGAIN THAT WE WOULD NOT HAVE TO LIVE LIKE THIS SONG SINGS… ♥
under HIS wings
jan
Hi Jan,
Thank you for all the great feedback; it should keep me busy for a while 🙂
First let me say that I mostly don’t disagree with what you say above
And that I would not literally compare Bono with Jesus in terms of world historical importance
50 years from now no one will care about Bono, but most would agree Jesus was/is important
And for me an old master is a great teacher and God is not an old master, but Jesus was/is
On a personal level, Jesus is the Son of Man, the Son of God, and a Jewish messiah, who most importantly taught us the Lord’s Prayer
The first time I listened to Bono’s The Joshua Tree album, I was something of an atheist
But the music had a profound spiritual effect on me and I found the Christian lyrics compelling
The music had the same effect on me on the way to Costco this morning as it did 25 years ago
Over the years, each time I hear Bono’s music, his lyrics take on new spiritual meaning
When you say “truly don’t know how you can say, For me God gives us nothing of himself”
I would respond that for me God is “no thing” or nothing, but does give us everything too
That is a paradox
When you say “perhaps we should do with our grief for loved ones that die what David did”
I would agree that we can learn a lot about God from David and that we are more like him
In my view, Jesus is “other” to us in a way that David is not; that is to say we are weak 🙂
For now, I must say “Thanks Jan”
I appreciate your prayers, and will come back with some more responses later 🙂
Beautiful word today
Thanks Skip