True Love

Rev Ng Kok Kee

President of Bible College Malaysia 

I always enjoy coming to Penang and I'm glad to be back again. I was here for the Baptist Theological Seminary Graduation dinner so I drove up and we have more days here to visit places we wanted. So this weekend I was wondering what I'll do so I invited myself to TOP. Your pastor cannot refuse me (laughs).

And I got to drive on the second bridge and my wife was worried because there were no cars before us and no cars after us. It was so empty I wonder why they build that bridge. We drove and drove and there was no end in sight. It's so much longer than the first bridge.

Matthew 22:34-40
But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together. 35 Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, 36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."

In 1944, a Polish Jew born in America Isaac Rabi a physicist and Nobel laureate, recognized for his discovery of nuclear magnetic resonance, which is used in MRI magnetic resonance imaging. He was also involved in the development of the cavity magnetron, which is used in microwave radar and microwave ovens. He was then asked by reporters how he discovered the sciences. His mother used to ask him questions every time he came back from school. He said his mother was not so much interested in what he learned but how he conducted himself in school that day. She would ask him whether he asked a good question that day. And that, he said made him become a scientist. He wanted to know the truth.

The Pharisees never really wanted to know the truth. They just wanted to test Jesus. They asked questions with wrong motives. They were not trying to learn, they were trying to trap Jesus. They wanted to do damage to his reputation. But Jesus was up to the task.

They asked Jesus which is the greatest of the Commandments. Sometimes I would ask what is the greatest commandments for the Muslims. I realised that Halal certification is serious. I read that we are the first nation to have a Halal CSI unit. To make sure that all halal products are 100% halal. I'm sure you've heard about the chocolates issue. Also recently a Muslim man tried to help Muslims touch a dog to remove the fear. But the next day it's being called haram. We may laugh and think that being halal is perhaps the Muslim's most important commandment.

So I want to throw this question to the Christian. What is our greatest commandment? Like we cannot do this or that. There are so many rules. You know what I mean.

The Jewish knows that the Do Nots were more than the Do's in the Torah. The negatives outweighed the positives. Scholars have different opinions. And any answer would risk pleasing someone at the expense of offending someone else.

So they knew if they threw a theological question to Jesus, he may say something that would offend someone. Bad questions. But Jesus must have stung them with his answer.

The greatest is to love the Lord your God with all your heart. And the second is to love your neighbour as yourself. And he said on these hung all the laws. He struck them with his answer.

What is this love? If you asked children you will find their answer to love is very wise and innocent. And we can learn from them.

Jesus saw that the Pharisees were so rule oriented that he said if you don't love God it doesn't matter what else you do. It's strange that God commands us to love him. If pastor Gideon can command the church to love him he'll be the most successful pastor in the world.

We cannot command love because it's a commitment. Look at Jesus. Your love is the only one thing God cannot take from you. It's the only thing God can have only if you voluntarily give to him. He can take your money, your house or your life, but only you can give your love. He cannot take it from you. Love is not a feeling but a commitment.

Loving God means keeping his commandments. To love God the way he wants to be loved is to obey God. I can tell how much you love God by your answer to me. Do you love God because you have to or because you want to? Parents will know this very well. They'll want their children to obey them because they want to. Not because they are afraid and have to.

There is this story of a rich merchant looking for the apostle Paul. He met Timothy and the merchant found Paul and saw this old man who was frail but had a serenity about him. He asked what was this man's strength. And Timothy said Paul is in love with Jesus Christ. Is that all, the merchant asked. And Timothy said that is everything. In love you don't have to act. People can see and know. It will be very evident if you love God or not. Some have to do so much to show they love God. It's not what you do or say. It's what you exudes when you love God.

The second part Jesus says to love others as yourself. God gave us two hands. One to hold on to God and the other to hold on to others. If our hands are holding on things of the world we cannot hold on to God and others. When we love God, his love will flow out to others.

There are four types of love.

Love among equals. This is not difficult and is perhaps the most common.

Love for the less fortunate, it is compassion. To love the ones that are poor, sick or abandoned.

Love for the more fortunate. This is rare. To love the ones that has more than us. In my words like the pendatangs love the bumis. To love your sister when you have 6A and one B when she has 7 A's. This is the love that always confuses the world because it's a saintly love.

Love for the enemy. The one that hurts you, condemn you, that hates you. This is a tortured love that loves the torturer. This is God's love. This is demonstrated by Jesus on the cross.

I think we need all these four types of love.

In a harbour there are two lights that guide the ship. As long as the lights are kept in line the ship will travel safe at the harbour. If we keep ourselves in line by loving God with all our heart and to love others like ourselves, we are in safe harbour in our Christian walk with God.

People say that love is blind, I say love is the only thing that sees. Let us love.

Pastor Gideon praying for some of the team members going on the mission trip to Sarawak