In the twenty-second chapter of Matthew, beginning at verse 34, we read of a Pharisee, who was a lawyer by trade, who asks the Savior a question by saying, "Master, which is the great commandment in the law?" The Savior answers him by saying, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets" (Matthew 22:34-40).
There are many things that are involved in demonstrating true love. It involves more than just casual lip service. The demonstration of our true love for God and for others involves action on our part. First, if we love God and our fellowman - our neighbors - we would treat them as we would like to be treated. Consider the words of the Lord to Moses as recorded in the nineteenth chapter of the book of Leviticus. We read, "Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbour: I am the Lord. Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him. Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord" (Leviticus 19:16-18). In Deuteronomy we read the words of Moses to his people, "And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up" (Deuteronomy 6:5-7).
The Savior Himself taught us, "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another" (John 13:35). For "If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?" (1 John 4:20). Therefore, if we profess to love God, we will love our brother also (1 John 4:21).
One way that we demonstrate our true love for God and our fellowman is through the service that we render to others. That service can be for a family member, a Church member, a friend, or even a total stranger.
This past weekend I had the opportunity to spend a few days with my brother-in-law in Manassas Virginia. As I spent time with him it was evident to me that he truly loves his wife, my sister, and he proves his love for her not only with words, but he demonstrates his true love for her through the daily service that he gives to her.
A typical daily routine for him goes something like this: he gets up every morning around 6:00 AM and gets ready to go to work which is an hour away from his house. He works 10 to 12 hours a day, often not returning home until 7:30 or 8:00 PM at night. When he gets home he fixes dinner for himself and his 12 year old son, takes care of a few odds and ends, and then prepares to go to the nursing home to spend time with his wife and attend to her needs – regardless of what those needs may involve. Oftentimes he does not return home until 11:30 PM or later. When he arrives home he normally takes care of washing any of my sister’s laundry that he had collected while at the nursing home, waits for it to dry, packs the now clean laundry into the tote bag to take back to the nursing home the next day, climbs into bed around 1:00 AM, and gets back up the next morning at 6:00 AM to start the cycle all over again. This has been his daily routine for a little over a year. Add to all of this the fact that he still has to maintain his home, do the grocery shopping, pay the bills, and spend time helping his son with homework and participating in his activities.
Does he do all of this to prove that he is some sort of superman or superhero or to gain recognition or pity from others? No he does not. He does all of this because he realizes that God has blessed him with a loving wife and he shows his appreciation and his love for both God and his wife by putting that love into action through his acts of service.
Speaking on the subject of service, our beloved Prophet, President Thomas S. Monson, has said, “As we look heavenward, we inevitably learn of our responsibility to reach outward. To find real happiness, we must seek for it in a focus outside ourselves. No one has learned the meaning of living until he has surrendered his ego to the service of his fellow man. Service to others is akin to duty, the fulfillment of which brings true joy. We do not live alone—in our city, our nation, or our world. There is no dividing line between our prosperity and our neighbor's wretchedness. 'Love thy neighbor' is more than a divine truth. It is a pattern for perfection” (Thomas S. Monson, "The Joy of Service," New Era, Oct. 2009, 4).
We also demonstrate our love for our Heavenly Father by how well we serve Him. May I offer a little food for thought? Do we simply come to Church on Sunday to always expect to receive a blessing, or do we come with the heart’s desire and intent of being a blessing to others? Do we honestly strive to magnify our callings, or do we merely go through the motions hoping for the day when we are finally released and no longer have to deal with it? Is our religion just a Sunday religion, or is it our way of life?
President Thomas S. Monson has taught us, “Each of us has opportunities for Church assignments. This opportunity of serving in the Church enables us to demonstrate a love of God and a love of our neighbor. It was King Benjamin who said: “When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.” There is no finer way to demonstrate love of God than by serving Him in the positions to which we may be called. Occasionally, the reward for that service will be prompt, and we’ll see the light in the eyes of the person whom we have helped. Other times, however, the Lord will let us wait a little while and let our reward come another way. Many are in the process of helping less-active people. It is important never to give up, but forever press on in our efforts to help them. The best way to help people to become fully active in the Church is to love them into that activity”. (Thomas S. Monson; “How Do We Show Our Love?”; Ensign, January 1998)
President Monson has also said, “As we love our God, as we love our neighbor, we can be the recipients of our Heavenly Father’s love [and] we discover that our Heavenly Father will answer the prayers of others through our ministry” (Thomas S. Monson; “How Do We Show Our Love?”; Ensign, January 1998).
Brothers and Sisters as we travel down the pathways of life we come to realize that we are not lone travelers. There are others who also travel down those same pathways. They are people who need our help, and most of all, our love. There are feet to steady, hands to hold, minds to encourage, and hearts to inspire. Everyone that we meet along those pathways is a precious soul of worth. We demonstrate our love for our Heavenly Father by loving and caring for each of them. By loving God and by loving our neighbor – those we meet along life’s pathways - we fulfill the two great commandments. And as the Savior has taught us, “On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets”. I leave these thoughts with you humbly in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ. Amen.
