100% Love?
There are the two great commandments:
And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.
- Mark 12:30-31 (KJV)
I never really understood why it says "with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength". Why the word all, and why the words heart, soul, mind, and strength (encompassing everything about me)?
And then one day, it occurred to me that if love is not 100%, it's not love at all. For example if you love someone with 75%, there's 25% hate (or something else), and that's not love at all.
And you certainly won't be able to keep God's commandments in the way they were intended.
If ye love me, keep my commandments.
- John 14:15 (KJV)
You can't keep the commandments with 50% love.
We can't even love God or others the way we're supposed to by ourselves. We need a bit of help.
And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
- Romans 5:5 (KJV)
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
- Galatians 5:22-23 (KJV)
The love in our heart from the Holy Spirit fulfills the requirements of God's law.