Return To Loving People
‘And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ‘
Matthew 22:39
Loving people is broken into two: loving your neighbour and loving your brother. Today we will talk about how to love your neighbour.
Love Thy Neighbour
Jesus said, the second commandment is to love your neighbour as yourself. That means the way you treat yourself is the benchmark for loving your neighbour. In simple terms, it means treat people how you want to be treated.
Who is your neighbour? Think of it naturally, we call a neighbour someone who lives next to us. You both stay on the same street, compound, or building. Your neighbours are those on the earth with you. Whether they are believers or not.
You cannot be a believer and not love others. How can you claim to love God that you cannot see when you do not even love man that you can see? It is impossible. A lot of us have fallen short on our love walk. We treat people like they don’t matter or they are beneath us. We forget that God loves them just as He loves us. God sent Jesus to die for them too and we are no better than them actually. We need to return to love.
So, what does loving others look like?
Treating them like the beloved of God, not as an inconvenience. Extending grace, kindness, and patience to them when they fall short, without accepting or condoning their wrong. Love also means correcting them in love. Sometimes we mistake love for acceptance or endorsement and that is far from the truth. Loving your neighbour who is not yet your brother should be accompanied by reminding them in action or words that Jesus loves them and is waiting for their yes.
Loving them means I’m here for you if you need somebody to talk to. Loving them means if they need help you can show up and help them and not withhold a good that is your power to do. We can only do this by the grace of God.
Prayer
Pray and ask the Lord to help you love people. Because one of the things that affects our ability to love people is hurt and offenses. So ask the Lord to heal your hurt. To give you the grace and to teach you how to love your neighbor.
Shalom
