Love Our Neighbor
The Most Important New Year’s Resolution We Can Make
2017 has been a year to remember, hasn’t it? From the hurricanes that killed dozens in Texas, Florida, and Puerto Rico because they didn’t have necessities (food, water, safe place to bunker down, hospital care).
From witnessing women having the courage and strength to speak out against sexual harassment and assaulted in the workplace, to the mass concert shooting in Las Vegas and church shooting in Texas. This year has seen its share of breakthroughs and breakdowns.
After all the Christmas music has stopped playing and before you start reading the latest “How to set goals” book, I feel that there is one new year’s resolution that is needed: We should all resolve to “Love our neighbor.”
What would happen if If everyone loved their neighbor
Think about it, what if we all took this command seriously, what if we tried to love someone else as much as we love ourselves. What a wonderful place this would be. In fact, Jesus thought it was so important that He said it was one of the two greatest commandments.
Jesus said in the book of Matthew: ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ (Matthew 22:37-39)
How much would this positively affect every area of your life if we all made this resolution?
Nobody would…
If everyone loved their neighbor: Nobody would go hungry, because nobody would want someone else to starve.
If everyone loved their neighbor: Nobody would stay broke, because no one would want another to go without. Furthermore, we would support each other’s businesses.
If everyone loved our neighbor: Nobody would hurt another person, because nobody would want another person to experience depression, loneliness, bigotry, pain, or heartache…every again.
How can I love someone who has hurt me?
You may ask, Vincent, how can you love someone after they have offended or my even tried to hurt my family? I hear and feel you. But let me ask you this; have you ever hurt anyone?
What if the person you hurt, forgave you? How good would that make you feel? You have the same power to extend forgiveness to someone else.
In Matthew 7:12, Jesus makes the statement: Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them. This is also called the golden rule.
Do I dare to ask, what if we loved someone who we might not think would love us in return? What if every loving person, loved a “hateful” person?
Wow, what a wonderful world that would be. AMEN
Additional Resources:
The Imitation Of Christ Paperback by Thomas Kempis
A Love Worth Giving: Living in the Overflow of God’s Love by Max Lucado
Horizontal Jesus: How Our Relationships with Others Affect Our Experience with God by Tony Evans
Question: Do you find it difficult to love a certain person, if so, what can we pray for to help you overcome that difficulty?
Feel free to leave your answer below in the comment section of the blog. I will use the most common responses and develop them into future blog posts to help others.
Here’s the link to leave a comment
