Monday, June 05, 2023

Is love a commandment?

One who is filled with the love of God does not need to be commanded to love God; we cannot "order" such a person to do this or that, as the law does. Love—and this is the paradox—is the one thing signified in all these commandments, but by that very fact it cannot be commanded, and does not come into existence through the Command. The Commandment of Love, since it emphasizes the whole meaning of all the commandments, eliminates itself as commandment. Love can only be present where it is given, not where it is commanded.—Emil Brunner, The Christian Doctrine of Creation and Redemption, 224

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