The Primacy of Love

In Mark 12 the religious rulers are getting desperate to get rid of Jesus, so they resort to try to trip Him up with His words. They ask Him questions which they think will trap Him, that is, any way He answers the question He will likely alienate some of His followers. One of those questions was about which commandment was the most important of all. That was a subject of great debate and with over 600 commandments there would likely be many answers to that question. Surely, whatever Jesus answered would alienate some people.
But like a Master, Jesus penetrates to the heart of the question. He answers, "...And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these."
Later in the chapter Mark contrasts the religious rulers and a poor widow. The religious rulers like to bring attention to themselves. They wear long robes; they like respectful greetings. They like to be recognized and honored by others. They will even make long prayers so that others will think more highly of them. Worst of all they are guilty of "devouring widows' houses. All that they do demonstrates that they are on "the take". The flow is coming into them, but never flowing outward. That is a sad example of a loveless religion.
On the other hand is the poor widow. She makes her way to the offering box and drops in two small copper coins. She shuns the embarrassment that would come because there are others who are rich that are dropping in large sums. But Jesus sees beyond the amount to the heart. This poor widow is depositing all she has in the box. So full of love for God is her heart, that she wants to empty herself as an act of worship for God. This kind of religion, so marked by love, is the kind that Jesus commends.
Paul commends it as well in chapter 12 of Romans. After having laid out the "principles" of the faith in chapters 1-11, Paul now lays out the "practice" of the faith in chapters 12-16. And toward the top of the list of practices is love. We see that especially in verses 3-21. And what does this love look like? Paul mentions many things: it pours out its gift in service to other; it shows brotherly affection; it gives preference to others in honor; it contributes to the needs of the saints; it practices hospitality; it blesses those who persecute; it rejoices with those who rejoice and weeps with those who are weeping; it associates with the lowly; it seeks to live at peace and in harmony with others; it never takes revenge nor succumbs to evil, but rather tries to overcome evil with good.
The religion of Jesus is eminently a religion of love. It is a pouring out of oneself - giving all we are to the Lord like the poor widow, and it is a taking on of the life of others as if it were our own. It would behoove us all to look at our religion today and see what effect it is having in our lives. If it doesn't make us look and act more like the One who poured out His life for sinners, then it may be that we don't yet have the genuine article. Jesus said that all men will know His disciples by our love. May He so work in us that we are forever marked by His love!