Love is A, B, C, & D; Love is All of the Above

Have you ever taken a multiple-choice test? I can’t stand them. I don’t like’em one bit. I’d even be willing to go so far as to say I HATE them (fully knowing it’s not good to have hate in my heart… but what if it originates in my brain?). Every answer looks the same. It’s stupid. It’s like someone designed a test to trick you, not test you. Like I said, I do NOT like multiple-choice tests.

I sit down, I grab my #2 pencil, and I open the test. I read the instructions (hoping they say something like, “If you’re reading the instructions, congratulations you WIN! Close your test and turn it in right away! You get an ‘A’!”). Then I start. I begin reading each question and, because of the way my brain works, I reread the question probably 3-4 more times. My body starts to tense up as I start to become overwhelmed with anxiety. I lose focus. Every answer looks the same. I want to get up. I want to leave. I want to be done. I want to…

QUIT!

Wow. I actually started to feel a little bit anxious writing that. That, to me, is love. So many choices. So many options. Go left. Go right. Turn here. Go there. Stop. Go. Walk. Run. Sit down. Stand up. A, B, C, D… all of the above! Which way? Which one? What’s the answer? My apologies, test anxiety was coming back again.

Here’s the thing about love… love is ALL OF THE ABOVE. Matthew, a dude who hung around Jesus while he was performing miracles and teaching and all that, recorded Jesus saying these words…

All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Matthew 22:40 NIV

What two commandments? Love God and love people. That’s it. That’s all. If the Bible was a multiple-choice test love would be A, B, C, & D; love would be all of the above!

Love is.
Love does.
Love wins.

How you are doing with this test? Are you trying to scratch out love and write something else in? Maybe you crumpled up the test and threw it away. Maybe you haven’t even turned it over yet to start. Maybe you’re trying to sharpen your pencil. Maybe you’re looking for some other excuse I didn’t list. Jesus has already given you the answer: LOVE. How will you respond?

In case you missed it, I wrote about the two commandments here:

Love God

Love People