And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.
Mark 12:30-31
Have you ever said, I love you, but I don’t like you very much right now? I know I have thought it if not said it. At first glance that seems loving, but is it really? During Sunday school this week, it occurred to me that as humans we think that is taking the high road, but God calls us to even higher peaks. A 1 Corinthians 13 love is only possible by the Holy Spirit working through us, and it will not be perfected this side of Heaven.
So, what does it mean to love your neighbor? Mark 12:30-31 tells us that whole law rests on loving God and loving your neighbors as yourself. In a world filled with hate, anger, revenge, and senseless murders, the only way to change things is to change ourselves first. I have to admit I am nowhere near where I ought to be, so where do we start? We start with the source of love.
Love God
We love him, because he first loved us.
1 John 4:19
God is the originator of love. He created us in order to have a relationship with us. Even when we were sinners, He sent His Only Son to die for us so that we could be reconciled to Him. God is love. That doesn’t mean He lets us do what we want. He loves us too much to leave us where we are, but He draws us to himself and slowly chisels off all rough spots so that we look more like Jesus every day. When we love God, His character becomes imbedded in us so that we want what He wants, and He wants everyone to be reconciled to Him.
Love Yourself
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
Genesis 1:27
Sociologists have a theory of the looking-glass self: you become what the most important person in your life (wife, father, boss, etc.) thinks you are. How would my life change if I truly believed the Bible’s astounding words about… Share on X
The world tends to go to two extremes when it comes to loving themselves: either they think they are the center of the universe, or they think they are worthless. We have value to God as one of His children. Everything we have and are, we owe to Him, so we cannot take the credit for it. Yet, we are His beloved children and are of great worth to Him. When we see ourselves in that light, we can take the love of God that overflows into us and pour it out onto those around us.
Love Your Neighbor
And this commandment have we from him, that he who loveth God love his brother also.
1 John 4:21
God poured out His love onto us even when we weren’t likable. We are called to do the same thing. The Bible says hate the sin but love the sinner. And we are all sinners. None of us is above the other in God’s eyes. So when I see someone committing what some consider a greater sin, I need to remember that God still loves that person as much as He loves me. Christ died for that person to have salvation even if they choose not to accept it. We are to love that person, but that does not mean agreeing with their sin. We are told to love and pray for our enemies because God loves them, too. It’s a radical stance in a divided world.
Love IS the Answer
If we want to make an impact on this world, we will have to do it with the love of God. Anything less will fail. It’s a hard lesson, and I’m at the back of the class. Father, help us to love others as You love us so that we can lead them to You because Jesus is the answer waiting for a prayer: