Kierkegaard - Works of Love Chapter 3a

Love is the fulfillling of the Law

Regarding the illustration of Matthew 21:28-31  "No" does not hide anything, but a "yes" very easily becomes a deception.  The first son that answered "no", is closer to doing his father's will than the second son who answered "yes" and changed his mind.

Asking "who is my neighbour" creates a trap for yourself.    For Jesus, love is pure action in that he acts and does not simply feel.  "Love is no shirker of tasks."

Love is the fulfilling of the Law.  It is not contradictory or conflicting.  Love is the sum of the commandments.  Think of the law as the artist's sketch.  love is the painting that results from the sketch. There is no quarrel between them any more than between hunger and the blessing which satisfies it.

To love God is to love oneself in truth and to help another person to love God is to love another.

What the law demands is not up for debate or interpretation.  It is not an accidental morality such as determined by the majority.  If the majority do wrong - it is still wrong.

The world says "look out for number one"  but the law says ignore escapes and excuses.  Love begins with a relationship with God and is characterized by inwardness and perseverance. Yet time does not alter the eternal requirement that love is the fulfillment of the law.

We are the first son, and we daily face the opportunity to move from our initial "no" to a loving, repentant "yes".