Loving God, without believing in him

British journalist John Humphrys says he wishes he could believe in God the way he did as a child, but his faith was worn away by years of witnessing the evils of the world.  His piece, though, hints that he may well obey the Summary of the Law in his life, even if perhaps he doesn't know it:

• Humphrys seems to recognize and accept that he's not God. That's no small thing — some people seem to think they're entitled to have the world be what they think it is, or what they want it to be, as opposed to what God has wrought;

• Humphrys appears to try to face the facts, to live in the reality that actually exists — or as believers would put it, in the reality that God created — as opposed to living in the fantasy "reality" that we all tend to create in our imaginations;

• We get the sense that Humphrys isn't a totally selfish man; that at least some of the time he seeks the best for others as he does for himself.

That sounds quite a bit like the Summary of the Law, no? Maybe Humphrys doesn't "love" God and neighbor, in the sense of love as an emotional state. But it's not apparent that people have any control over the emotion of love. As far as the Summary of the Law is concerned, maybe Humphrys is doing all that's expected.

And if we're to believe Jesus' response to the lawyer, as reported in Luke chapter 10, then perhaps Humphrys the doubter has just as good a shot at eternal life as the most devout of orthodox Christians.

(Hat tip: TitusOneNine.)