Love Is Commanded, Not Suggested
“Love your neighbor as yourself.” - Mark 12:31a (CSB)
Jesus does not speak softly here.
When He says, “Love your neighbor,” He is not offering advice for people who already feel loving. He is issuing a command from the King of the kingdom. This is not optional spirituality. This is obedience.
That alone should slow us down.
We live in a culture that treats love like preference. You love when it feels natural. You love when it’s mutual. You love when it benefits you. But Jesus does not frame love as a feeling you follow. He frames it as a command you obey.
That changes everything.
Jesus does not ask how you feel about your neighbor. He asks how you live toward them. Love, in the kingdom of God, is not measured by intention but by action. Not by what you say you believe, but by how you respond when obedience costs you something.
This exposes a hard truth: it is possible to be sincere and still disobedient.
Many of us have good intentions. We want to be loving. We admire love. We talk about love. But Jesus is not satisfied with admiration. He demands alignment. According to Him, love for God and love for people cannot be separated. You cannot claim devotion to God while withholding love from those made in His image.
This is why loveless religion is so dangerous. It allows us to appear faithful while living contrary to the heart of God. Jesus does not call that immaturity. He calls it hypocrisy.
And yet, this command is not meant to crush you. It is meant to clarify. Jesus is showing you what life in His kingdom actually looks like. Love is not the side dish of faith. It is the evidence of it.
If Christ is King, then His command defines our lives. Love is not optional. It is how we live under His rule.
Reflection Question
Where have you treated love as optional when Jesus treats it as obedience?
Jesus does not command feelings. He commands lives shaped by love.
Prayer
Father, I confess how easily I reduce love to intention instead of obedience. Forgive me for excusing lovelessness while claiming devotion to You. Teach me to take Jesus seriously, not only in what I believe, but in how I live. Shape my heart so that obedience flows from love, and love flows into action. Amen.
Jesus does not speak softly here.
When He says, “Love your neighbor,” He is not offering advice for people who already feel loving. He is issuing a command from the King of the kingdom. This is not optional spirituality. This is obedience.
That alone should slow us down.
We live in a culture that treats love like preference. You love when it feels natural. You love when it’s mutual. You love when it benefits you. But Jesus does not frame love as a feeling you follow. He frames it as a command you obey.
That changes everything.
Jesus does not ask how you feel about your neighbor. He asks how you live toward them. Love, in the kingdom of God, is not measured by intention but by action. Not by what you say you believe, but by how you respond when obedience costs you something.
This exposes a hard truth: it is possible to be sincere and still disobedient.
Many of us have good intentions. We want to be loving. We admire love. We talk about love. But Jesus is not satisfied with admiration. He demands alignment. According to Him, love for God and love for people cannot be separated. You cannot claim devotion to God while withholding love from those made in His image.
This is why loveless religion is so dangerous. It allows us to appear faithful while living contrary to the heart of God. Jesus does not call that immaturity. He calls it hypocrisy.
And yet, this command is not meant to crush you. It is meant to clarify. Jesus is showing you what life in His kingdom actually looks like. Love is not the side dish of faith. It is the evidence of it.
If Christ is King, then His command defines our lives. Love is not optional. It is how we live under His rule.
Reflection Question
Where have you treated love as optional when Jesus treats it as obedience?
Jesus does not command feelings. He commands lives shaped by love.
Prayer
Father, I confess how easily I reduce love to intention instead of obedience. Forgive me for excusing lovelessness while claiming devotion to You. Teach me to take Jesus seriously, not only in what I believe, but in how I live. Shape my heart so that obedience flows from love, and love flows into action. Amen.
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