καὶ αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ ἀγάπη, ἵνα
περιπατῶμεν κατὰ τὰς ἐντολὰς αὐτοῦ· αὕτη ἡ ἐντολή ἐστιν, καθὼς ἠκούσατε ἀπ᾽ ἀρχῆς,
ἵνα ἐν αὐτῇ περιπατῆτε.
Translation:
6
And this is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the
commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, that you walk in it.
Commentary:
Greek
ἐστὶν is the first verb in this verse. It is present
active indicative 3rd person singular. The elder brings to light
what true love is by saying “…this is love…”, and then continues by explaining
both what love is and how to show it.
περιπατῶμεν is the next verb used and expresses the idea of an
action taking place. This word carries the meaning of “walking” which implies
the aspect of doing. There is work involved on our part when it comes to
expressing real genuine love. This verb is present active subjunctive 1st
person plural.
ἐστιν is used a second time in this verse. The elder is
pointing back to what he stated in both verses four and five. Verse four tells
us that we were given this command from the Father and verse five informs us
that these believers, like us, are not commanded anything new. Rather, this
command has always been present.
ἠκούσατε is aorist active indicative 2nd person
plural. What the elder is doing is telling these people that they have heard
this command from the beginning. Not only has it always been around, but this
has also been an emphasized concept to these believers ever since the message
first came to them.
περιπατῆτε is the final verb and is present active subjunctive
2nd person plural.
English
How can we as Christians love people in the very best way? The answer
that is given here in the Bible is that the only way to truly love someone is
to obey God and His commandments. It is interesting to note that the road to
true love is paved by obedience to God’s laws. This can cause some tension for
many because our culture, even the Church, has greatly misunderstood both love
and obedience.
In terms of love, even Christians place more emphasis upon the way one
feels. Don’t get me wrong, true love does involve passionate feelings, but
feelings alone should not, and cannot, be the basis or foundation of one’s love
for another. Love is a choice – conscious and willful – to commit oneself to
another person and to stick it out through the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Yet, often, even in our churched atmosphere, we only allow the other person to
hurt us so much before we leave. Then, after we have finally found an excuse to
divorce, we attempt to justify both our actions and reactions through our often
misguided, misinterpreted and misapplied use of Scripture.
Why is true love so misunderstood in our day and age? The answer is
because Christian obedience to God’s laws is widely misconstrued today in the
church. If someone even mentions the words “obedience” or “submission” they are
immediately told to tread cautiously so that they do not become a legalist.
Legalism is the idea of placing one’s own personal
[that’s the key word] convictions upon other people and looking down on them
when they do not follow your way of life and conduct.
However, obeying God’s laws and submitting to the truth of His Word is
not a matter of personal opinions and convictions. The New Testament is filled
with God-given commands that He places upon you and your life. Jesus Christ
demands your obedience and allegiance to follow Him. One person on Google found
over a thousand commands for Christians to obey in the New Testament. If you
are interested, then just type in “commands in the New Testament”. This seems
to contradict the notion that Jesus is fine with however we live our lives and
does not expect us to change.
The fact is, you and I cannot fully love each other, or anyone else for
that matter, if we are not obedient to God. God’s laws matter. Why? Because
they are life-giving. God’s laws are what keep marriages together through the
tough times. His standard is meant to guide and direct our lives so that we can
better love the people around us. Just obey Him and true love will be the
inevitable outflow.
