Mark 12:31 “…Love your neighbor as yourself’. There is no commandment greater than these.”
In his book Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis wrote, "Do not waste your time bothering whether you 'love' your neighbour; act as if you did. As soon as we do this, we find one of the great secrets. When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love him. If you injure someone you dislike, you will find yourself disliking him more. If you do him a good turn, you will find yourself disliking him less."
The act of showing love to those around us is so important that Jesus marks it as a command. From today’s reading, the Bible admonishes us to love our neighbours as ourselves. Here are three reasons why we must love our neighbours as ourselves:
1. It is proof of our love for God. The Bible says in
Matthew 22:38-39 (NKJV), “This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”
When asked which was the greatest commandment, Jesus also volunteered the second. He reveals that we must love God and our neighbours as ourselves. These two commandments are so united that they cannot be separated.
2. It proves that we are His disciples. Jesus said,
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:34-35, NIV).
Just as the Bible entreats us to love God, it is equally imperative upon every follower of Jesus Christ to embrace in a real affection all whom Jesus so loved as to die for them. If I am to love a Christian man because he and I love Christ, then I am to love everybody, because Christ loves me and everybody, and because He died on the cross for me and all men.
3. It reveals God’s love to others. We should love people in our neighborhoods, offices, and schools. Many of us can admit and confess how poorly we love our neighbours. We may not even know their names. Loving our neighbours is not a program, but an attempt to reveal God’s unprecedented love.
Precious one, loving our neighbours as ourselves is not just the greatest command, but it is also proof of our love for God, it shows we are disciples of Christ, and also reveals God’s love to others.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for loving me with an everlasting love. Lord, cause Your love to overflow in my heart and through my life to my neighbours, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Related Topics : Charles Agyinasare, Love,
