What does it mean to love your neighbor as yourself?
In an effort to cause Jesus to stumble and look like a fool, a religious student of the time asked Him what the greatest command of all is. Jesus responded with this:
“‘Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.’ This is the most important, the first on any list. But there is a second to set alongside it: ‘Love others as well as you love yourself.’ These two commands are pegs; everything in God’s Law and the Prophets hangs from them.”
Matthew 22:37-40 (MSG)
These two commands are so important to Jesus that He says all other commands hang off them like they are pegs on a wall. This is powerful stuff!
In other words, we don’t need to trip ourselves up trying to understand every detail of every one of God’s laws. We need to practice these two and trust that everything else hangs from them as Jesus said.
But, what does it mean to love your neighbor as yourself?
Jesus tells us to love our neighbors, and that sounds great and a lot of people are on board with this. Except, how exactly do we do this and who exactly is our neighbor?
The answer to who is your neighbor is vague depending on how you understand the passage. Many people believe it refers to all people. People in Jesus’ world didn’t interact much with people outside of their own communities. Travel and communication was not anywhere near the level it is today.
These days, we can communicate with someone on the other side of the world in an instant, or we can board a plane and be in a different part of the world in hours. It’s hard to believe that Jesus wants us to draw hard boundaries on who is or isn’t a neighbor, especially as the world has grown as small as it is today. We’re all in this together. We’re all neighbors.
So, what does it mean to love your neighbor, then?
Well, it looks different for everyone depending on the situation. You can always do kind things for others as an act of love. YOu can spend time with people. Pray for them. Feed those who are hungry. Help provide shelter for those who need shelter.
The verse says to love your neighbor “as well as you love yourself.” So, what are some ways you love yourself? Are you more forgiving of your own mistakes than you are of others’? Do you hold yourself to lower standards than you hold others? It’s time to even the playing field and hold others on the same level you hold yourself.
Centerpoint Church is ready to walk with you on your faith journey
At Centerpoint, our community believes in purpose and passion, and we would love to walk with you on your journey in finding yours. We are currently going through a new sermon series titled “To Hell With Normal.” It’s all about redefining what we consider normal in life as we seek to make our lives more like the way Jesus would have them to be.
Do you want to grow in your faith or are you simply curious about who this Jesus guy is? You’re not alone. We encourage you to listen to our series online and welcome you to come to one of our Sunday morning services in Valrico, Florida.