LOVE THY NEIGHBOR
Daphne Powell
Today's Scripture: “Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.” 1 John 3:18, ESV
Theme: When we mature in our faith, our actions show our love for others even more than our words do.
THE GARDEN OF EDEN
In Genesis 2:8, The Lord planted a garden and put man there. But he was alone; no good companion was found for him among the created beasts. This is where we then get Eve; God created a helper or companion for Adam. From this lineage came all of mankind. This means we are all equally loved by God.
FREE WILL
As time passed and mankind moved throughout the Earth, our free will created a world in which we have believers, non-believers, and even different religions and moral codes. We wonder how this happened. How did we all come from the same parents (Adam and Eve) and stray from our original family?
LOVE THY NEIGHBOR
There is a verse that talks about loving your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:29). Words without action are just words. Love for others is treating them--no matter who or where they are--as you want to be treated. There are no conditions on this; we don’t get to add a stipulation to what constitutes a neighbor. Follow the lineage back to Adam and Eve and recall that everyone is your neighbor. If we live by this principle, it follows that everyone through action would feel loved. When you see another believer, you are looking at a child of God. Everyone you interact with is someone God loves.
YOU MIGHT NOT UNDERSTAND THE “WHY”
I remember one day I was walking into the grocery store, and this elderly gentleman told me, “Covid is over, take off the mask.” What I wanted to say is “I have cancer and I am wearing a mask for my protection,” but I kept walking and prayed to the Lord that He would still love on the man who didn’t love me. He observed something about me that he didn’t understand; maybe if he understood the “why” behind my mask, he wouldn’t have made that comment. This reminds me not to make comments or judgements about others based on an isolated observation. Like when someone makes a traffic mistake – do I assume it was intentional or that they missed something and feel bad that they inconvenienced me? In each situation, I get to choose whether to put love into action or not.
Make It Personal: What does love in action look like? Does our love show because we read the Bible, go to church every Sunday, or recite a verse by memory? Or does love show when we see a friend in a stranger instead of a foe?
Pray: Dear Lord, may we focus more on You, and open our hearts to love, even when it’s hard. Help us to see beyond our own assumptions of others and help us to love them. When we see a stranger, help us to see Your beloved child. Amen
Read: Genesis 2:8, Genesis 3:7-8, Leviticus 19:18
Weekly Memory Verse: “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.” Proverbs 14:12, ESV