The commandment to love raises the question, “what is love?” Currently many understand it as "toleration and acceptance." This is not a bad thing, until it requires us to turn a blind eye to sin. Others equate it with warm affection or hot desire—reducing the powerful virtue of love to an empty vice. Love is often twisted into a program of personal fulfillment, which demands that others comply with our preferences as we make the rules. Paul looks to Jesus who said that love fulfills the Torah—obeying the Lord’s commandments, not our own.
The Tanach (Jewish Bible) is a history of God’s faithful love. YHWH saves by grace alone, and those who trust in His salvation are called into covenant with Him. The Lord provides instruction (laws) to protect this relationship with His people. Jesus is the fullness of Divine love and In Him we find perfect union with one another and God. Paul warns us that this union can be broken by the false desires of the flesh. Pagan Rome is famous for its corruption, but sadly, people in every age are ruled by the passions. Sin causes death, but Ezekiel gives us good news: God does not delight in the death of sinners nor take pleasure in the demise of the wicked. Rather, the Lord wants us to return to Him and live. It is not enough to believe this ourselves we must also proclaim it to others.
The prophet has a task to preach the love of God to everyone, even the unresponsive and hostile. This message can be a heavy burden. God says that if the prophet fails to warn the people, then their blood is on the prophet's hands. Because the church is a prophet, we have the same "burden of love." We must call people out of darkness into His light, or their blood is on our hands.
Such a vocation requires that we constantly repent and grow in love of God and our neighbor. We must also hold one another accountable because it is a team effort! We do not want the blood of our neighbors to stain any of our hands.
Let us be clear. This message is not about arguing politics, nor is it demonizing others. We are not trying to control others; we are inviting them to hand over control to the Lord. The best way to preach this is by our example of repentance. If we fulfill the commandments through humble love, others might hear God speak through us.
The ministry of a prophet may be a burden, but for those who love, the task is sweet and the burden is light.
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