Living in the In-Between - Devotion 5
Love Your Neighbor
“And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 22:39
Love God. Love people.
The greatest commandment and the second one, much like it, are all summed up in four words. That might make it sound really easy. It is not.
Jesus was asked by the religious authorities what the greatest commandment was, not the two greatest commandments. There is a reason Jesus answered their question in this way. Only when you learn (and you will keep learning this until your last breath) what it means to love God with all of your heart, soul, and mind can you begin to learn how to love the people around you. Here is the paradox; however, you cannot love God that way without loving your neighbor as yourself. These commandments are forever linked.
What is the common word here? Love. Love is the main thing. It is loving like God does. The main thing has nothing to do with being right, separation from those who do not believe the same, or political affiliation. The main thing is love.
We get ourselves into trouble when we try to define who our neighbor is. Jesus knew this and even encountered a lawyer who was representative of all of us when we come across someone who is hard to love. Go and read the account in Luke 10:25-37 and come back here.
He describes the parable of the Good Samaritan. What a way to answer the question of who is our neighbor! Jesus did not pull any punches here. The lawyer was trying to justify his lack of compassion for those he did not like and disagreed with, and Jesus threw a couple of theological jabs and then landed the knockout uppercut. This poor man that had been attacked was lying on the side of the road half dead! A priest and a Levite came across this poor man and not only ignored him, but they walked on the other side of the road! They did not want anything to do with him. Who actually stopped? The Samaritan. The Samaritans were hated by the Jews, and the feelings were mutual. This Samaritan stopped, cared for the man, and made sure he was cared for.
I love how Jesus finished the story. What a question He asks: “Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” Can you imagine the body language of the lawyer in his response? I see him looking down at his feet and softly answering Jesus, “The one who showed him mercy.” (Luke 10:36-37)
When it comes to loving our neighbors as Jesus’ followers, we get caught up and focused on too many things that do not matter. Notice that Jesus did not give any qualifying adjectives to who your neighbor is. It is also not just the person next door, as we have seen in the parable of the Good Samaritan.
This is where the rubber meets the road, my friend. It is when Jesus commands us to love our neighbor. He is calling us to love our white, black, gay, transgender, Republican, Democrat, racist, conservative, liberal, homeless, atheist, Buddhist, Muslim, and offensive neighbor. How can we do that? We do that by learning how to love God with all of our heart, soul, and mind.
The early church struggled with this, too. In Acts chapter 15, the church came up against an issue about who actually followed Jesus and who were Christians. The Jewish Christians claimed that anyone who became a Christian had to be circumcised in order to be saved. Others in the church claimed that it was not necessary and that faith in Jesus was enough. Paul and Barnabas came to the church, and Luke (the author of Acts) tells us that “there was no small dissension and debate with them” (Acts 15:2). They were going at it! So, the apostles and the elders got together to discuss the matter.
Peter finally stood up and declared that the Holy Spirit had been given to the Gentiles as well as the Jews at Pentecost, and they all had heard the Gospel and believed! There was no longer any distinction made between them, and this issue had no bearing on their salvation. The Gentiles had been saved by faith as well.
Then, Peter says something that is so very convicting:
“And so my judgment is that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God.” Acts 15:19 (NLT)
How difficult do we make it for people to see Jesus when we do not love our neighbor? How much do people hear about everything else other than Jesus when we get on our social media? Do people know more about what you are against than what you are for?
As you learn to love God with all of your heart, soul, and mind (as you have been reminded of the hope, peace, joy, and love that is found in the coming of Jesus), as you bear the name of Jesus to your neighbors, may you make it easier not harder for people to see Jesus. May you be for the people around you because God is for the people around you. He died for them, and He has sent you to be His ambassador. He has sent you to be their neighbor as you live in the in-between.
May the result of this Advent season and our lives living in between Jesus’ first and second Advents be marked by His love. Should God give you an opportunity to love in the coming days, weeks, and months, let your Pastor know it. Ask him to pray for you. The body of Christ is in this together. I would love to know it, too! Email me at jyates@theriverchurch.cc, I would love to rejoice with you.
Love God and love people in the in-between.