Title: Love's Duet
Contents
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28. And one of the scribes heard their argument, and when he knew that Jesus had answered them well, he came up and asked, "What is the first of all the commandments?
29. Jesus answered them, First of all, this is this: Hear, Israel, the Lord our God is the only
30. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.
31. The second is this: Love thy neighbor as thyself. There is no greater commandment than these.
32. The scribe said, “Teacher, you are right. It is true that there is one God, and there is no other.”
33. And it is better to love God with all your heart and with all your wisdom and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself, than all burnt offerings and other sacrifices offered as a whole.
34. When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." After that, no one dared to ask.
Content
Title: Duet of Love
Text: Mark 12:28-34
In fact, Christianity has had a very negative prejudice against the expression ‘self-love’ for the past 2000 years. The word ‘self-love’ was regarded as the opposite of ‘love of neighbor’ unconditionally, so I have been thinking of it as the same meaning as selfishness. The basic premise was that if you love yourself, you cannot love your neighbor, and if you love your neighbor, you cannot love yourself.
However, I think this understanding of ‘self-love’ is only half the understanding of ‘self-love’. Of course, before we met Jesus properly, that is, when we did not yet know how valuable a life of living according to God's will was, I was probably indulging in greed for worldly values such as money, power, and fame, You will not be able to afford to live for people, and you will be more likely to sacrifice others. If I say I will live for others, it means that I will cause a lot of loss in my greed, so it will be virtually impossible to live for others. In this case, 'self-love' and 'love of neighbor' will never become one, as is usually understood as such.
But if we have a real encounter with Jesus, and accept the life of conscientiousness according to God's will as the most valuable life, so that we can be freed from attachment to material things, then I will no longer be between loving myself and loving others You will not be able to feel the conflict. Rather, this changed heart to care for and love oneself becomes a practical basis for thinking about what I can do for others, and accordingly, self-love and neighbor love will become one.
In today's text, I think that Jesus' saying, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself" refers to this unity of love. When loving oneself becomes the basis for loving others, and at the same time loving others is the sure sign of loving oneself, I think it is a clear statement that loving oneself and loving others can become one. Here, the body, of course, does not refer to the flesh, or the lusts belonging to the flesh. It will refer to ourselves who have faith in God and are trying to live a righteous life. Therefore, to love your neighbor as yourself would mean to actively help all people to live that life just as we believe in God and want to live a righteous life in this world. To the point where what is for myself is for others, and what is for others is for myself, I believe that the beautiful duet of love can be played here.
In 1900, when Mr. Severance, a wealthy man in Cleveland, USA, donated a huge amount of money to be used for the construction of Severance Hospital, Mr. Avison thanked him. You will be well aware of Mr. Severance's answer at this time. “My joy in giving is greater than your joy in receiving.” At first glance, this may sound like a somewhat exaggerated saying, a way of greeting others with consideration. For it is a pleasure to receive, but a loss to give. But for true Christians, I don't think this would be an exaggeration. For a Christian, giving to others is not only the way to save the person who receives the benefit, but it is also the way to live for himself.