The first and greatest commandment is to love God with all our hearts, souls, and minds (Matt. 22:37–38). We’ve already seen how suffering changes you and me, enabling us to love God more fully. Yet suffering also plays a part in our obedience to the second greatest commandment: to love our neighbors as ourselves (Matt. 22:39). Through suffering we are enabled to love, give, support, stand by, encourage, and empathize with our neighbors in ways we were never able to before.
