Loving Your Neighbor

Matthew 22.36-40

36"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" 37Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' 40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

As Christians we are called by God to love our neighbors. This can sometimes seem like a daunting and even impossible task. We live in a world plagued by constant hatred and bitterness of heart. We see television shows and movies where neighbors are despised, husbands and wives are constantly bickering, and children have no respect for their parents. These are symptoms that we are not loving our neighbor. I do not believe God's Church hates its neighbors. We are called by Christ to “love [our neighbors] as [ourselves.]” This command is both beautiful but also an enormous responsibility. Why does God's Word say this, and how are we to go about loving our neighbor?

We must realize that loving our neighbor is the second greatest commandment in God's eyes. This is quite a shocking revelation. Out of all the important commandments, “surely loving our neighbor should be lower on the list,” we think. In fact, this law is so significant that Jesus says “[a]ll the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” I believe the reason this commandment is so important is because our love for one another is an extension of God's love for us and our own love for God. When we treat each other with bitterness, deceit, backbiting, gossip, and even direct hatred, we are treating the reflections of God with contempt. Each person is a reflection of God in some way, for we are all in the image of God. Therefore, let us love our neighbor with the same love we love God. Depending on our relationship with Him, that may reveal something quite unsettling: is our love for God sufficient enough to cause us to love our neighbor? Jesus says for us to “[l]ove the Lord [our] God with all [our] heart and with all [our] soul and with all [our] mind.” He says that this “is the first and greatest commandment.” Beloved, we ought to love God with all of our being—our hearts, souls, and minds. When we do that, loving our neighbor will not only come easier, it will be more rewarding.

What does loving our neighbor look like, then? As with our love for God, our love for the people in our lives manifests itself in many ways. God uses our spiritual gifts and natural abilities and skills to spread His love to His children and His lost children. For some we may give food or clothing or time to the poor. For some we may comfort someone with a hug, a word of encouragement, or consistent prayer. Others may love their neighbor by inviting them to events and worship. There are literally thousands of ways which we can show our neighbor we love them. The imperative thing here is that we do everything within our abilities to love our neighbor.

Beloved, when we “love [our] neighbor as [ourselves],” the world is made better. God's love bursts through with beams of mercy and grace and demonstrates the love to the lost. Just think of how much positive change can and will result in this world when we begin treating others with love instead of bitterness and animosity. Instead of thinking that negative thought or speaking that negative word to your family, friends, coworkers, schoolmates, or complete strangers, speak or think a word of encouragement. Love your neighbor, beloved, and allow God's love to shine through you and through your neighbor. Amen!

With love in Christ,


Austin Aldrich