Loving Your Neighbor

Good morning! I hope you’ve had a great weekend. If you were like me you watched the Pittsburgh Steelers/Indianapolis Colts playoff game and probably felt your heart skip a few beats in those final few minutes.

Today is the celebration of the life of civil rights pioneer Dr. Martin Luther King. Dr. King saw the inequality in our nation and knew that it was unjust. In reflecting upon his life and work I find myself drawn to the words of Jesus.

In Matthew chapter 22, Jesus is being put to the test by a group of religious leaders on everything from paying taxes to issues of the afterlife. Finally one scholar asks him to identify what is the greatest commandment in all of scripture. Jesus’ response is found in the following set of verses:

Matthew 22:37-40 (NLT)

Jesus replied, " 'You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.' [38] This is the first and greatest commandment. [39] A second is equally important: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' [40] All the other commandments and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments."

I would like us to focus in on the second thought of Jesus’ response…loving your neighbor as yourself. Unfortunately we are flawed people. We have a sin nature and with that nature come biases that are not only uncivil, but ungodly as well.

So what does it mean to love your neighbor as yourself? The word love used here comes from the Greek word “agape.” This word describes God’s perfect love and it is sacrificial in nature. To truly love someone else we must be willing to give everything we have for their benefit.

Now the next issue is this idea of neighbor. In the book of Luke a man questions Jesus about the issue of “who is my neighbor?” Jesus responds by telling the story of the Good Samaritan. Through this story Jesus shows that everyone is our neighbor. Unfortunately we are biased people. We find so many reasons to fear, distrust, or dislike others. We separate between skin color, cultural differences, religious practice or ethnic heritage. Sadly even in America, “the land of the free,” we still stereotype and discriminate with such ease.

What Jesus is truly saying to us is this. If you would do it for your own well being, do it for anyone else, no matter whom they are. Let’s bring some practical application home. If you take the time to make sure there is food on your table, you need to make certain that you neighbor is also fed. If you take time to make sure you have a roof over your head, you need to make certain that your neighbor has a roof over his head. If you take time to pray for your own needs, take time to pray for the needs of your neighbor.

The work of Dr. Martin Luther King is still not completed. The years of racism and bias have left a legacy of mistrust and fear, but Jesus died for every race, color and creed. In Christ we are all sinners saved by grace and by his power we can truly learn to love our neighbor as our self.

Until next Monday, may Gods’ richest blessings be yours this week.

Carl