Loving our neighbors is our missional participation
as citizens of God’s kingdom.
By Heber Ticas, Superintendent of Latin America
Sun Valley, California, U.S.
Many years ago, I learned that Great Commission living must be driven by a Great Commandment heart. This principle may seem a bit simple, but it speaks to the divine life. Jesus’ mission in the world is prompted by the love of the Father, “for God so loved the world.” Thus, as kingdom citizens, we are propelled by God’s love to partake in His kingdom work. Kingdom Living has to do with a type of life that can only be lived out in union with Christ by the Holy Spirit. The two great commandments help us better apprehend the dynamic of loving God (vertical), and loving neighbor (horizontal) as it relates to our participation in His kingdom.
Jesus’ disciples needed to learn this principle. After three and half years of walking and apprenticing with Jesus, they struggled to fully grasp this key component of Kingdom Living. In our common humanity, we are no different. We tend to wrestle with the same issues. One of the problems is that we are inclined to separate the two commandments. Although the object of love is different, the type of love does not change. Let us explore this further through Jesus’ teachings in the Gospel of John.
Love God (Vertical Love)
Our vertical love toward God is unique in nature. We are called to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37). This love is unique because God is unique. We cannot love neighbor in the same way that we love God because of the unique nature of who God is. According to Jesus’ teachings in John 14, we are bound up in the life of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit through the Son. Jesus says, “The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them” (John 14:21b). This vertical love is unique in that it involves both an attachment to him and a oneness with him. It could only be possible because He came to us and has reconciled us to the Father, so our vertical movements of agape love to the Father depends on our union with Christ.
Love Neighbor (Horizontal Love)
We can never love neighbor in the same way we love God because of the uniqueness of our relationship with God through the Son. The commandment itself details the difference, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Because the object of love is different, the intensity of the love is different as well, but the source of the love remains the same. It flows from above, to us, and from us to our neighbor. This is what Jesus was saying when He said to the disciples, “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another” (John 13:34b). Our horizontal expressions of love must mirror Jesus’ expressions of love to us.
As we immerse ourselves in the triune love shared by the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we will deepen our sense of that love, and it will not only inform our love for neighbor, but it will also bring clarity to our missional participation as citizens of God’s kingdom. Jesus builds the kingdom, but as kingdom citizens, we point to it and bear witness of it by loving neighbor in the same way that Jesus loved us.
Thank you, Heber. By God’s grace alone, he opened the eyes of my heart. He freed me to participate with Jesus in taking actions of love, his love, for my neighbors in our community. The Holy Spirit teaches me to participate with him in keeping the eyes of my heart focused on Jesus’ presence. This enables me to participate with him in worshipping our Father in heaven. Living in the Kingdom Culture is life worth living!