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Posted by Pastor John R. Harvey D.D.
January 8, 2021 -
#compassion
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254 views
What it Really Means to Love Thy Neighbor?
To do most things in life there is a prerequisite. Or, should we say, a recommended prerequisite? Let’s say you want to bake a pie. Unless you’ve honed your baking skills (a prerequisite), you may want to Google some directions, right? Of course, then you have to purchase the ingredients, preheat the oven, and so forth.
This same scenario can be applied to things all throughout your life. There is usually always a prerequisite – something always needs to happen before something else can occur. And, guess what? There is a prerequisite to loving thy neighbor, too.
“God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love – not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.
Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But, if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.” 1 John 4:9-11 (NLT)
When something is important we repeat it and emphasize it, right? As a teenager takes the car out, we remind him or her to be careful, pay attention, and to leave the cell phone alone. When a supervisor gives us a project to work on, we repeat it and briefly elaborate to ensure complete understanding. And, when a doctor wants you to take a particular prescription, he or she may stress the importance of taking it regularly.
Learning that we are to love our neighbors is so important – perhaps that is why it is written at least 8 times throughout the Bible. Plus, Jesus spoke about it in parable and God even commanded it.
“Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?” Jesus replied, “You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.
A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”
The words written on every page of the Bible are intentional. What if the Bible said, “Eh, go on and love your neighbor if you feel like it and if they are nice. You don’t have to. And you can love some and not others, like those who don’t deserve it. Loving thy neighbor is kinda important?” Would we take the importance of this statement as seriously? Probably not. But, when God commands that we do something, there is no misconception. It is not up for debate. Besides, wouldn’t it be nice if we all just got along? What a world we could realize together.
