Lofty Love is to Love God and Others (Matthew 22:36-40)

Full quote below.

"Teacher, which is the greatest cpmmandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (Mt 22:36-40).

Jesus' core teaching is that love for God and love for neighbor are the inseparable foundation of all Scripture (Mt 22:37-40).

1. Why do you think Jesus says that all the Law and the Prophets hang on both loving God and your neighbor (Mt 22:37-40; Dt 6:5; Lev 19:18; Gal 5:14; 1 Jn 4:8, 16)?
2. Why do you think Jesus says that loving our neighbor is like the first and greatest commandment of loving God (Mt 22:39; 1 Jn 3:17; 4:20-21)?
3. What does loving our neighbor entail as it pertains to our daily lives (1 Jn 3:18)? How do we put it into action (Jas 1:27; 2:15-16)?
4. Why is it difficult to love our neighbors? What prevents you from loving all your neighbors not just the ones we like (Prov 21:13; Mt 15:8; Lk 10:31-35)?
5. How can you extend the love to your neighbors that persecute you (Mt 5:44; Lk 23:34; Rom 12:14, 17-21)?
6. What can we do to help us love our neighbors (1 Jn 3:16; Phil 2:5-8; Rom 5:5; Gal 5:22-23)?
7. Do you love your neighbors humbly or out of obligation? How can you change if it’s out of obligation (Phil 2:3-4; 1 Cor 13:3)?

Love must be cultivated, for it is not our natural affinity to love as God loves: "Before we can love God we must have the Lover of God in us–the Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit has shed the love of God in our hearts, then that love requires cultivation. No love on earth will develop without being cultivated: Dedicate ourselves to love, i.e. identify ourselves with God’s interests in others, and God is interested in some funny people–in you and in me! Beware of letting natural affinities hinder our love. One way of killing love is by disdain built on natural affinities. To be guided by our affinities is a natural tendency, but deny this tendency. Then God gives us affinity with those for whom we have no natural affinity. Is there anyone in your life who would not be there if you were not a Christian? The love of God is not mere sentimentality; it is most practical for a Christian to love as God loves. Springs of love are in God, not in us. The love of God is only in us when it has been shed in our hearts by the Holy Spirit; the evidence that it is there is the spontaneous way in which it is manifested." Oswald Chambers. Our Brilliant Heritage--As He Walked.