The “Other” Love Chapter

(Love, love, love)

(Love, love, love)

There’s nothing you can do that can’t be done,

Nothing you can sing that can’t be sung,

Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game,

It’s easy!

There’s nothing you can make that can’t be made,

No one you can save that can’t be saved,

Nothing you can do but you can learn how to be you in time,

It’s easy!

All you need is love,

All you need is love,

All you need is love, love,

Love is all you need.

(Love, love, love)

(Love, love, love)

(Love, love, love)

All you need is love,

All you need is love,

All you need is love, love,

Love is all you need.

There’s nothing you can know that isn’t known,

Nothing you can show that isn’t shown,

There’s nowhere you can be that isn’t where you’re meant to be,

It’s easy!

All you need is love, etc, etc.

                                                                      -The Beatles

Get it? “All you need is love!” And if that’s not clear enough, “Love is all you need.”

I recently ‘discovered’ Leviticus 19. I Corinthians 13 is what we usually call the ‘love chapter,’ but Leviticus 19 certainly seems to be the I Corinthians 13 of the Old Testament.

In fact, Leviticus 19 contains one of the key passages in all the Old Testament, “…You shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.”

But what is meant by “love”? If I love my children, do I correct them, or do I ignore them? Do I “force” them to go to school and learn the three “R’s” or do I refrain from using my parental authority to cause them to do anything at all?

Let’s talk about property: Most of us think that we should respect our neighbor’s property, kind of like the 8th and 10th commandments say we should. But one very influential person, Karl Marx, taught that we must attack one neighbor’s property in order to love the rest of our neighbors. After all, how can we “love” Neighbor A while Neighbor B is sitting on extra property that he doesn’t “need?” Do the right thing! Take (some would say “steal”) the property from B, grab some for yourself, and finally share some-if there’s anything left-with A.

Not to overstate the case, but how should convicted criminals be loved? Certainly not by locking them up, no? Aren’t we supposed to love everyone? Doesn’t that include convicted criminals?

There is an answer, and Leviticus 19 is here to help. Prior to “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” we read, in verses 17 and 18,

You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor, and not bear sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.

In fact, the entire chapter is full of specific directions on how to love, and one can trace each of the Ten Commandments throughout the 37 verses. From honoring one’s parents, to rising before the aged, to respecting the physically handicapped, to proper treatment of those who are not native to the land in which you live, it’s all about love.

Again, specifically how to love. God’s Law is the only means by which we can know if we are truly loving or not. If we ignore the Law-word of God, what we think is love may very will turn out to be hate.

So, we find out through the Bible both the command to love and the description.

Unlike the vacuous Beatles lyrics quoted above, which tell us neither.

~ Joel Saint