“And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself…this do, and thou shalt live.”
“But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?”
Luke 10:27-29
Have you ever posted something on Facebook and had offended people comment to justify themselves? Get over it! The same thing happened to Jesus all the time.
Let’s talk about loving our neighbors. The scripture says that God does not deal with those who call upon Him as they deserve. (Ezra 9:13) So, let’s dispense with our ideas about what our neighbor might deserve and leave that to God.
What we are to give is what we desire. Do you want love, friendship, liberty, equality—then, give it!
But here’s the thing about giving, you cannot give what you do not possess as your own. Having done all to love God, let the love of God flow to you. Love and forgive yourself, be merciful—you may not feel like you deserve it, but that is irrelevant. It is already given to you. Take it, wallow in it, throw some up in the air and let it rain down on you.
Then, the next time you pass your neighbor in the driveway, send some their way. Don’t stop next door though. Make up ways to give love away. A friend of mine and I used to drop “love bombs” when traveling. These were little note cards with a blessing on them. I know it not much, but I have come to value how much greater “not much” is than nothing.
The call for you to move mountains will never come until you learn to move your heart. The Christian heart is meant to be a heart of flesh that feels the pain and sorrow, joy and gladness that surrounds it. But the world is a harsh place, and our neighbors are indifferent. This has hardened hearts back into the tables of stone we were meant to escape making us rigid, cold, and closed off.
This is divided, polarized society is the product of human government and not the Kingdom of God. What you will be, how you look at yourself, and how you see your neighbor depends on where you choose to live.
Maranatha
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