Christ mentioned two types of love, the love for God and the love for one’s neighbor; and look, how much He exalted the latter. That is, after stating that the first commandment is to love the Lord your God, he mentioned, without stopping, the second one, even adding that it is similar to the first: To love your neighbor as yourself (Matt. 22:37-39). What could be equated with this compassion and goodness of God? When God considers the love for one’s neighbor to be similar to the love for Him and asserts that one love is the same as the other. Let us therefore love one another, so that we may love God, who loves us, in the same way. Love your fellow human beings along with Me, says God to us, and then I will love you even more. Do you see the words of a passionate lover? If you love those whom I also love, then I think that I myself am very much loved by you.
Saint John the Chrysostom
Translated by Dr. Nick Stergiou
