Hello, and welcome to The Read-Pray-Sing Blog. Having the love of God towards other people is a VERY BIG DEAL to the Lord. That is what I found out while doing this study.
In This Blog Post:
With Valentine's Day approaching, I thought it would be interesting to take a closer look at the 2nd commandment, "loving your neighbor as yourself."
In this blog post we are going to uncover skills for spiritual and personal growth that will help us fulfill this 2nd commandment, God's way.
Before we delve into these 3 Laws of God's Love, let's talk about to WHOM we should be showing God's love.
Love Thy Neighbor As Thyself
When Jesus was questioned by one of the Scribes about which commandment was the most important in Matthew Chapter 22, he answered, "Listen, O Israel, the most important commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. The second most important commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself." He went on to say that there is no other greater commandment than these.
In Luke Chapter 10, Jesus was questioned again, this time by an expert of Moses' law, the man wanted to test Jesus' knowledge of the Scriptures, and asked him, "Teacher, what does a man need to do to live forever in heaven?
Jesus said, "What does Moses' law say about it?"
The expert of Moses' law recited the two most important commandments, which we mentioned above, and Jesus said, "That is correct. Do these two commandments and you shall live."
But the expert wanted to justify his lack of love for some people, and he asked Jesus, "Which neighbors do I have to show love too?"
Then Jesus went on to share the story of the Good Samaritan.
The Parable of the Good Samaritan
All Christians are aware of this parable of the Good Samaritan, but for the sake of following through with my study, I will summarize the story here.
A Jew was traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho and was attacked, robbed, beaten, stripped of his clothes, and left to die.
Two Jewish men walked by this poor man and didn't do a thing for him.
But a despised Samaritan man came along, saw the poor man, took pity on him, soothed his wounds, gave him medicine, and took him to an inn where he nursed the wounded man all night.
In the morning, he gave the innkeeper money to take care of the frail man, and said he would repay the innkeeper later if it cost him anything extra.
Jesus then turned to the expert of Moses' law and said, "Which of these three people would you say was a neighbor to the victim?"
The expert of the law said, "The one who showed him pity."
Jesus said, "Yes, now go and do the same."
Does "Love Your Neighbor" Apply to Everyone?
Jesus reinforced this concept of "loving your neighbor" by extending the rule to even love our enemies. In The Sermon on the Mount, Jesus shared, "Love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way you will be acting as true sons of your Father in heaven."
Jesus goes on to emphasize that our Father in heaven gives both rain and sunlight to the evil and to the good, to the just and to the unjust, so we must do the same and show love to both the kind and the unkind.
"If we only love those who love us, what good is that? Jesus said, 'Even scoundrels do that much.'"
"If you are only friendly to those who are friendly, than what good is that? How are you different than anyone else?"
But, Jesus said, "Be better than that. Love those who hate you. Love those who persecute you, and be perfect, as your Father in heaven is perfect."
We are called to extend our love and concern to ALL persons everywhere, as our neighbors.
We should not exclude anyone or any group because of social status, a character fault, religious difference, racial difference, ethnic difference, or any other difference.
We are called to show pity and compassion to ALL people, and in this way we are perfect in God's love.
3 Laws of God's Love
1. Forgiving Others
Jesus calls us to remember that we are God's children, and just as he loves all people, and is willing to forgive all their sins, we too, must be willing to love and forgive others who have done wrong to us.
Matthew 6:14-15
For if you forgive others when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
Unforgiveness can destroy our lives with bitterness and resentment, and anger can cloud our judgment, causing us to say and do things that cannot be undone.
We cannot wait for another person to repent and apologize for the wrong they have done to us before we forgive them. If we refuse to let go of our anger and nurture a desire to punish or get even, the love of God will not enter our lives.
2. Helping the Needy
The Parable of the Sheep and Goats found in Matthew 25, always brings me to my knees. Let's briefly look at this story.
"When the Son of Man returns in his glory, and all his angels with him, then he will sit on his throne, and all the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate them from one another. Placing the Sheep on his right, and the Goats on his left."
"Then he will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.' "
"Then the righteous will answer him saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry or feed You, or thirsty, and gave You drink? And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked and clothe You? And when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?'"
"And the King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of the brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.'"
"Then he will also say to those on his left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me; sick and in prison, and you did not visit Me.'"
"Then those on his left will say, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison and did not take care of You?'"
"Then He will answer them, saying, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to Me.' And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."
Jesus made things very plain in His Parable of the Sheep and Goats. We are not meant to live self-centered, hard-hearted lives, but are called to put our faith into practice and truly LOVE our neighbors, showing pity and compassion, especially on those less fortunate.
3. Following the Golden Rule
One of Jesus' best-known quotes is what is known as the Golden Rule, "Do to others what you would have them do to you."
If we wish to be loved, respected, forgiven, and not judged wrongly, then we must also love, respect, forgive, and not judge others.
Matthew 7:1, NIV
Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
Jesus went on to say in Matthew 7, that as long as we have our own faults and sinfulness, which we will always have, we do not have a right to criticize others.
Matthew 7:2, NIV
Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?
To sum the Golden Rule up, "Treat others as you would want to be treated." This is Jesus' standard of love for dealing with other people.
If you show mercy to others, you will receive mercy. If you show sympathy to others, you will receive sympathy. If you choose not to forgive, you will not be forgiven.
The Rewards of Blessing and Forgiveness
To conclude this study on 3 Laws of God's Love, is to acknowledge that fame, fortune, and social status do not matter in the kingdom of God. They have no place. What matters most in the kingdom of God, is our love for God and our love for other people. They are one in the same.
After a review of our life, our Heavenly Father, the King, will decide if we will be placed on the right side or the left side of his throne when he returns in his glory with all of his angels, depending on whether we gave him food when he was hungry, drink when he was thirsty, and clothed him when he was naked.
It is a matter of whether we acknowledge a need or ignore a need. Whether we will show pity or harden our heart.
Let's give of our time, money, and energy, while we have our being, to do things that matter most in the kingdom of heaven: forgiving others, helping the needy, and following the Golden Rule, so we may be apart of those who are on the King's right side, that enter into eternal life.
Let's Pray Together
Father in Heaven,
How great are Your ways in all the earth, and how great is Your love towards us. May we heed Your teachings and parables on loving and forgiving others, and may we walk in all Your ways. Help us to be perfect in love, and help us to be pleasing in Your sight.
Grant us grace to forgive others, so we may be free to express Your love. Give us a heart for those in need, and energy to help them. Open our eyes that we may see areas where we are lacking, and help us to change.
May we become more and more like You, Jesus, as we spend time in Your word and choose to show love in the capacity You desire.
Thank You for teaching us and showing us more of Your heart on this matter of love. May we bring glory to You in all of our words, thoughts, and deeds.
In Your Precious Name,
Amen
Blessings ~
From,
Angie
The Founder of
My Sun & Shade Ministries
