The second commandment was, “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39 Leviticus 19:18). Jesus said that the greatest commandment in the Old Testament was, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind” (Matthew 22:36ff Deuteronomy 6:5). As we will see, the love for things and both dimensions of the love for persons are richly illustrated in the Bible.Īs we examine the Old Testament and the New Testament in turn, our focus will be on God’s love, then on man’s love for God, man’s love for man and man’s love for things. In this case, love is not a delight in what a person is, but a deeply felt commitment to helping him be what he ought to be. There is the aspect of love for persons who are not attractive or virtuous or productive. But there is another aspect of interpersonal love that is very important in the Bible.
As with things, loving persons may mean simply enjoying them and taking pleasure in their personalities, looks, achievements, etc. When directed toward things, love means enjoying or taking pleasure in those things. Love in the Bible, as in our everyday usage, can be directed from person to person or from a person to things.
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