Who Is Your Neighbor?
“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Romans 13:9
When Paul says we are to love our neighbors as ourselves, he means that we should have the same care and concern for others that we have for ourselves. Paul said the same thing in this way: “Let each of you look not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others” (Phil 2:4). You should be just as concerned about the comfort, happiness, peace, and joy of others as you are about your own.
Whose face do you wash in the morning? Whose hair do you comb? Whose wardrobe do you buy? Whose comforts are you concerned about? You are concerned about your self–preservation and self–comfort and should be concerned about others in the same way. Pay as much attention to them as you do yourself. That’s loving your neighbor as yourself.
Who is your neighbor? Anyone who comes across your path. Although it is hard to love everyone, you have a new capacity within you to do that (Rom 5:5).
MacArthur, J. (2001). Truth for today : A daily touch of God's grace (Page 295). Nashville, Tenn.: J. Countryman.
Lessons Learned: If you seek to fulfill Christ's second commandment, it should not be hard to find a "neighbor" to love. Everyone is your neighbor. If we show the same care for everyone else that we show for ourselves, then we will do them no harm. If we love our neighbor, we will not commit adultery, we will not murder, we will not steal, we will not bear false witness, we will not covet. Loving ourselves and doing what is best for us comes easily and naturally. Loving everyone else, even our enemies, takes a concious effort on our part. It also requires the love of God to empower us. Only those filled with the Holy Spirit can do something so unnatural as to love everyone, including those who hate them.
Applications: Be proactive in loving others. Don't just wait for others to show you kindness first. If everyone did that, there would be very little love in the world and everybody would only love their own family and friends. Just as God loved us while we were still His enemies (Rom 5:8), we must love everyone, even our enemies. God has given us the capacity to show that kind of love to all of our neighbors, both friends and strangers.
Prayer Subjects: Pray for a sincere, proactive love for everyone around me. Pray for opportunities to serve and minister to others in need, both those close to me and strangers, and even enemies. Pray for God's love to fill my heart and to empower me to love sacrificially.
Listen to this entry
Romans 13:9
When Paul says we are to love our neighbors as ourselves, he means that we should have the same care and concern for others that we have for ourselves. Paul said the same thing in this way: “Let each of you look not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others” (Phil 2:4). You should be just as concerned about the comfort, happiness, peace, and joy of others as you are about your own.
Whose face do you wash in the morning? Whose hair do you comb? Whose wardrobe do you buy? Whose comforts are you concerned about? You are concerned about your self–preservation and self–comfort and should be concerned about others in the same way. Pay as much attention to them as you do yourself. That’s loving your neighbor as yourself.
Who is your neighbor? Anyone who comes across your path. Although it is hard to love everyone, you have a new capacity within you to do that (Rom 5:5).
MacArthur, J. (2001). Truth for today : A daily touch of God's grace (Page 295). Nashville, Tenn.: J. Countryman.
Lessons Learned: If you seek to fulfill Christ's second commandment, it should not be hard to find a "neighbor" to love. Everyone is your neighbor. If we show the same care for everyone else that we show for ourselves, then we will do them no harm. If we love our neighbor, we will not commit adultery, we will not murder, we will not steal, we will not bear false witness, we will not covet. Loving ourselves and doing what is best for us comes easily and naturally. Loving everyone else, even our enemies, takes a concious effort on our part. It also requires the love of God to empower us. Only those filled with the Holy Spirit can do something so unnatural as to love everyone, including those who hate them.
Applications: Be proactive in loving others. Don't just wait for others to show you kindness first. If everyone did that, there would be very little love in the world and everybody would only love their own family and friends. Just as God loved us while we were still His enemies (Rom 5:8), we must love everyone, even our enemies. God has given us the capacity to show that kind of love to all of our neighbors, both friends and strangers.
Prayer Subjects: Pray for a sincere, proactive love for everyone around me. Pray for opportunities to serve and minister to others in need, both those close to me and strangers, and even enemies. Pray for God's love to fill my heart and to empower me to love sacrificially.
Listen to this entry
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