Honesty time, have your found it hard to love your neighbor? I do not think there are many Christians out there who will say that they truly love their neighbors and that they are comfortable in following that commandment to a T.
‘Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” ‘
-Matthew 22:37-40
Our normal state is to be close to God, we tolerate our dear ones, and we draw a boundary that permits civil behavior with the rest of the people we interact with. I am not talking about non-believers. That is for a different day. This is with respect fellow Christians and the commandment Jesus spoke about as being like the first and greatest. Here is a test. When you go to church next Sunday, look around and be honest. Do you feel some of them are better than the others?
If your answer is no, more power to you. May the Holy Spirit continue to lead you and guide you. For the others who said yes, here is a something that may work. We do not know what God’s plans are. All we know is that His plans for us are good. Trust Him and try to understand what He sees in us. A well put together Christian and a broke, illiterate, unsophisticated Christian are similar in that:
- They love our Lord
- They are both made in His perfect image
- Their circumstances do not define them, their identity is in Christ
- Most importantly, His love for man reflects who He is and not who we are.
If we can look past what this world tries to present to us, we may be able to start loving like God and being obedient enough to follow the second commandment.
‘ 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.” ‘
-John 13: 34-35
Dear God,
Your lovingkindness draws us closer and closer to you. I pray that I may see in others what You want me to see so that I may love my neighbor like You expect me to. Amen.