Day 1 – Love Your Neighbor As Yourself: Introduction

“Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus said to him, “‘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.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets” Matthew 22:35-40 (NKJV). What does the Bible say about loving your neighbor? The origin of this saying is found in the Bible. Jesus commanded us to “love thy neighbor,” and emphasized its importance by repeating it several times throughout the Bible. This collective action would solve nearly all the problems our world faces today, yet we often overlook this quote instead of living by it. What seems like such a simple task has been complicated by the ways of modern society. It is now though, especially during this global pandemic, that we need to return to look at Jesus’ word and practice his command. Even without considering the Biblical origins, loving your neighbor is a critical part of creating and upholding strong communities. So how can we love our neighbors as ourselves? In the book of Matthew, Jesus gave two commands to the Pharisees when one of them asked him what the greatest commandment of the law was. The second was to love thy neighbor as thyself. We must live by both commandments if we wish to follow Jesus’ word. The first commandment was to love God with all our hearts. “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these” Mark 12:30-31 (NKJV).

The original Greek word translated “love” goes beyond having warm, fuzzy feelings toward someone or about ourselves. It suggests action. It means, “To have benevolence toward; to take regard to their welfare.” Based on this definition, self-love goes beyond feeling good about ourselves (which we don’t always feel) and means taking action in regard to our own welfare. To honor this commandment, we should look to strengthen and deepen our faith. If you have yet to create a relationship with God, now is a great time to start! Fortunately, Jesus’ purpose was to redeem and transform our lives, so it is never too late to accept him into your life. A neighbor refers to those near to us. The commandment of loving thy neighbor as thyself includes other parts, as we mentioned above, but perhaps the most direct way we can follow this command is to do tangible things for those close to us. Letting them know you’re thinking of them is often enough to inspire love inside of them, encouraging them to do the same for others. Caring for our neighbors is a way to inspire a cycle of giving and receiving, which creates a strong community. Loving your neighbor as yourself is found eight times in the Bible. Not once, not twice and not even eight times. Loving your neighbor as yourself is so important to God that He not only repeats Himself, but He also makes it a command. And not just one in a list of many commands. Jesus coupled the command to love your neighbor as yourself with loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.“And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these” Mark 12:31(NKJV).

All the law is fulfilled in one word, and that is, love. All obedience begins in the affections, and nothing in religion is done right, that is not done there first. Love is the leading affection, which gives law, and gives ground, to the rest and therefore that, as the main fort, is to be first secured and garrisoned for God. Man is a creature cut out for love thus therefore is the law written in the heart, that it is a law of love. Love is a short and sweet word and, if that be the fulfilling of the law, surely the yoke of the command is very easy. Love is the rest and satisfaction of the soul if we walk in this good old way, we shall find rest. Jesus commanded us to love God, love ourselves, and love our neighbors. We should honor him by doing these things because he loves us. We can use his love for us to inspire love within ourselves- for ourselves, and for those around us. Loving communities are valuable, especially in times of crisis, like we are going through now. The proper act of love being complacency, good is the proper object of it. Now God, being good infinitely, originally, and eternally, is to be loved in the first place, and nothing loved beside him, but what is loved for him. Love is the first and great thing that God demands from us, and therefore the first and great thing that we should devote to him. Loving your neighbor means receiving God's love. Too begin to love your neighbor as yourself, you need to know two things: you need to know what love is and that you are loved. “All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify. Let no one seek his own, but each one the other’s well-being” 1 Corinthians 10:23-24 (NKJV).