The Apostle Paul wrote about fulfilling the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2 “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” Some think that the “law of Christ” is everything that Christ commanded, or perhaps it is all the commandments of the New Testament. But I believe that it is the law or commandment of love that Christ gave in John 13:34-35 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” It is the Law of Christ because Christ gave it as a “new commandment.” Even though love was commanded under the Law of Moses (Leviticus 19:18), it was apparently not emphasized by the Jews. For the followers of Jesus to exhibit love for each other would be unusual and mark them as disciples of Jesus.
The Apostle says that bearing one another’s burdens fulfills the law of Christ. We can have all kinds of burdens in our lives. We can have emotional burdens due to disappointment and loss. We can have spiritual burdens due to sin and its consequences. We can have burdens from persecution and conflict. We can have financial burdens brought on by the problems of life. We can have physical burdens due to illness or disability. Whatever the burden someone may have, if you act out of love to help your brother or sister deal with their burden, you will be fulfilling the law of Christ.
Having agape love for another fulfills the commandments of the law. Rom 13:8-10 “Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ ‘You shall not covet,’ and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.”
How do you want to be treated by others? Do you want to be treated in love so that things go well with you? Then that is how you should treat others. Matthew 7:11-12 “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”
Many people see love as a feel good emotion that we have for someone because we really like them. But the agape love of the Bible is different. When you like someone, you enjoy being around them, spending time with them and interacting with them. But you don’t have to like someone to love them. We are told to even love our enemies. Luke 6:27-28 “But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you.” We don’t have to like our enemies to love them.
When we love our enemies, we are like our heavenly father. Matthew 5:43-45 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” The Father sends blessings on everyone. To be like Him, we should love everyone.
We are given a good description of agape love in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a “Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.” Christian love does not necessarily result from good feelings. Sometimes it is contrary to natural inclinations. Love seeks the welfare of the one loved; it works no ill, and seeks opportunity to do good. That is why you can love those who are your enemies or those who you don’t like. Love is an attitude of the heart that concentrates on the welfare of the individual rather than on the deeds that they may commit. You don’t have to like someone to love them and seek their welfare.
The opposite of love is hatred and malice; these usually indicate a desire for bad or harm to come to the other person. Instead, agape love seeks the welfare of the other person. Hatred seeks harm; love seeks welfare and goodness. Ephesians 4:31-32 “Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.”
James writes about the “royal law” which seems to be similar to “the law of Christ”. James 2:8-9 “If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself,’ you do well; but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors.” Since the command to love your neighbor was given by Christ the King, I believe it is therefore the royal law.
So how are we to have love? I believe we are told in Colossians 3:12-15 “Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.”
Sometimes it is difficult to have love. That is when we need help from God. I encourage you to pray that the Holy Spirit will help you to be a person of love and thus fulfill the law of Christ.