Matthew 22:36-40 (NASB) “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And He said to him, “ ‘ You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘ You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”
When Jesus came to earth in the flesh, He summarized the law into these two commandments. If you would look at all the commands God gave Israel in the Old Testament, every single one of them is covered with these two. There are just things you won't do to someone you love. I Peter 4:8 tells us that love covers a multitude of sins. I Corinthians 13:13 tells us that love is the greatest virtue to have. With love, every other "good" trait exists.
But I'm not speaking of that friendly love or that romantic love. I am discussing godly love. The love that we have to ask God to help us to have. The love that sees past every fault of people we encounter; the love that reaches around the globe to people we've never met. The love that can care for the well-being of an individual without compromising our standards or beliefs. This love has nothing to do with compatibility.
God is love (I John 4:8), so how can we worship Him without love? Worshiping God involves loving people, and loving them enough to make sacrifices of our own desires. When we begin to place the needs of other people (even perfect strangers) before our own, we show God's love for us. Even while we were sinners, totally against God and His righteousness, He sent His only son to die for us (Romans 5:8). There was and is no guarantee that we will accept God's love, but still He offers it to us. We must offer our love to others, and let them decide whether they will accept it.
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