The Soul of Faith / David Jeremiah

 

The Soul of Faith On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets. Matthew 22:40   In William Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, Polonius says to Claudius, the King of Denmark, “Brevity is the soul of wit.” In Hamlet, Polonius is verbose. But regarding brevity, Polonius got it right: Powerful points can be made with just a few words.

Recommended Reading: Matthew 22:34-40

Jesus would have agreed. When a lawyer asked Him to identify the greatest commandment in the law, Jesus replied succinctly that the greatest commandment is to love God with all one’s being—a summary of the first four of the Ten Commandments. Then Jesus went further and named the second most important commandment: to love one’s neighbor as oneself—a summary of the remaining six of the Ten Commandments. Then came the jewel of brevity: “On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” The entire Old Testament can be summarized by loving God and loving other people. And in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus put it in practical terms: Do to others what you would like them to do to you—“for this is the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 7:12). Summarize your Christian life today by loving God and loving others. Everything depends on love.   Divine love, unlike human love, is not dependent on its object. R. B. Kuiper