What is the greatest commandment? Jesus' response to this is simple. We should love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and a second one like it is to love our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:36-40). Jesus says that the whole of the Law is contained in these two things; the love of God and the resulting love for others.
Love
This "Law of Love" does indeed embody the highest and noblest of Christian ideals, but I believe it has had some unintended consequences, at least in our generation. Foremost among them is the idea that this "Law of Love" subjugates or even repudiates the Law that God gave in the Old Testament as if the Law given to Moses was something distinct from love. In reality, the Law given by God in the Old Testament is an expression of incredible love. When we speak of The Law of Love, we understand if we love God and others, we will fulfill the intent of the Law God has given, but let's not become confused as to how loving the Old Testament Law really is.
Nobody likes being told what to do. We consider any kind of rule or law to be restrictive. We want our freedom, we want to be able to do what we want to do, and we think we know what is best for us and don't need anyone else telling us that. When we experience the restrictive nature of rules or laws, it is hard for us to associate that with love. Laws usually don't feel loving, especially when the police officer writes you a ticket for speeding.
Though it is certainly possible to have bad laws, and even more possible that laws may be used or enforced in such a way as to be unfair and harmful, the concept of law is a concept born out of love. God has set up laws to govern creation, and God gave The Law to His people, not to restrict us from good things, but to protect us from bad things. Law, in general, has three primary functions. First, the law brings and keeps order. It is a wonderful thing that the law of gravity exists, even though it means we can fall out of a tree and get hurt. Without laws that we can depend on to govern the universe, there would be no order in our lives. We would have no idea how to live from one day to the next.
Law
The law also restrains evil. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said that the law could not make a man love him, but it could help keep a man from attacking him. His life, sadly, proves the law is imperfect in restraining evil, but it is certainly helpful in doing so. Jesus said that Moses gave laws concerning divorce because of the hardness of people's hearts. Women were being routinely discarded by their husbands, so God had Moses give laws that would define the "what, when, and how" of divorce to protect the society (and women in particular) from evil. God gives us the Law to protect us from evil as an act of supreme love.
The Law is Love
Finally, The Law is like our teacher, and it points us to our need for a Savior. By having the Law, we have an objective standard by which we can measure ourselves. We can clearly see that we do not measure up to the standard of righteousness. By having the Law, we see that we can't keep the Law. We recognize our sin and our inability to meet God's standard. We come to understand our desperate need for a Savior. The Law points us to Christ, our only hope. The Law is an expression of God's great love for us. This is what God says about His Law in Psalms 19:7-11:
"The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The decrees of the Lord are firm, and all of them are righteous. They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honeycomb. By them your servant is warned in keeping them there is great reward."
There is a Law of Love, and it is beautiful, powerful, and primary. But let us not forget that the Law of God is also good, beautiful, and sweet. The Law is Love.
As Lent commences on Ash Wednesday, we are entering a time of introspection and prayer leading to Easter. Let us reflect on the significance of death preceding resurrection, urging readers to embrace a daily practice of surrendering self in preparation for our spiritual transformation.