Seven verses in which Jesus reiterates, seven times, the core of his message: at the beginning of everything and as the fulfillment of everything lies the same act:
to love, the cornerstone and keystone of living life.
“You are loved” is the foundation of the law, and its fulfillment is: “you shall love.” Anyone who separates the law from this principle will love the opposite of life, as if loving death.
Jesus does not impose rules; he seeks respectful and patient love. He quietly enters the depths of life, hopeful for love rather than demanding it. With great delicacy, he begins with “if”: “If you love me.” There are no threats or manipulation—only the freedom to choose.
But loving him is an adventure: love is a word that burns the lips and sounds inconsistent if spoken wrongly. “If you love me, you will keep…”—a beautiful automatism, the root of consistency: only if you love, do you keep. What? “My commandments.”
Jesus assured us: “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
What a sense of vitality and open paths, with spring like bursting forth and new beginnings! We have a God who oversees all births, who leads us on every journey, emerging from the future rather than the past. “I will not leave you as orphans; I live, and you will live.” Giving life is God’s purpose and His work. God’s fundamental law is that humanity should thrive, and this is also His greatest joy.