Loving your Neighbor

We have all heard the verse where Christ says we should love our neighbor as ourselves. This weekend, that really struck me. I started to think, who would qualify as my neighbor? The people next door? Yes. The people living in our town? Yes. The people living in our state? Yes. How about people in the U.S.? Yes. And all over the world? Yes. Ok, so some tougher questions - what about the person at work that gets on your nerves? Yes. And how about that family member that is just so hard to love? Yes!

So we have defined who my neighbor is - everyone but me! But what exactly does loving them like myself mean? When I have a disagreement with someone I care about, am I loving them as myself? What about if we really disagree on major issues? Does it mean I have to let their side "win" so to speak? No, I don't think that would be true. Does it mean that no matter how many times I am hurt by someone, that I should continue to strive to build that relationship? Probably. But how do you do this, knowing that they will probably hurt you down the road again by saying something behind your back, manipulating those around you, or turning their back on you? I don't really have the answers. But now that I think of it, I haven't been a very good "neighbor" myself. I am probably not that easy to love when I think I am right (which now that I think about it, is most of the time). I am probably not easy to show compassion towards when I am focused on the challenges of my life, and don't take time to listen to others. In fact, others may put me on their list of difficult people to love. OUCH!

If I faced the judgment that the Bible talks about at the end of the age, when God separates the wheat from the chaff, how much of my life would "burn" with the chaff? I am starting to think it will be more than I think. My compassion for others should be obvious. It should be overflowing. That means it spills into others lives.

I wouldn't use those descriptions to talk about my life right now. I think this is an area God must be telling me I need to work on. No, I struggle to love some people, and get frustrated when they don't respond the way I want them to. I avoid others that I find difficult to love - people whose lives are so different from my own, that it makes me uncomfortable just trying to come up with something to say. So if the very nature of God calls us to love one another, then whose nature is it that calls us to be an adversary? I hesitate to answer Satan, but let's call him who he really is. And that would be someone I want nothing to do with. So Lord, give me eyes to see others they way that you see them. To find value in everyone because they are your creation, and to give each person I encounter a glimpse of your glorified light through me.

What a daunting task, accomplished only by resting in God's grace, which is exactly what I struggle with most of the time. Rest. Resting in God's grace. It sounds so easy, so why do I struggle with this? Why do I continue to try to work towards "achieving" those virtues the Bible speaks of, instead of resting in Christ and letting the Holy Spirit do the work? Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, humility, - the fruit of the Spirit is within me, not a target to be reached! It can only be revealed when the fruit of humanity is laid aside - strife, ambition, pain, animosity, mistrust, slander, selfishness, etc. Lord, as I learn to lay these down, fill these empty spaces with the fruit of your everlasting spirit. Help them to abound in me so that they overflow into others lives. Help me to love my neighbor as myself. Teach me to know what this means, and to be the person you have called me and other believers to be.

"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” ~ John 13:34

“By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." ~ John 13:35

“Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.” ~ Romans 12:10

“Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law.” ~ Romans 13:8

“You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.” ~ Galatians 5:13

“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.” ~ Ephesians 4:2

“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” ~ Hebrews 10:24

“Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart.” ~ 1 Peter 1:22

"Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and be humble" ~ 1 Peter 3:8

Memories of 9/11

This morning on the way to work I was listening to Focus on the Family and they had a guest speaker who was in the 2nd tower of the World Trade Center. A wing of the plane actually stuck into his exit door. As he recounted his miraculous escape to freedom, and how God had delivered him by using another man to help him, I couldn't help but think of all the others who may have prayed the same prayer for deliverance from the situation, but met their death instead. We will never know their stories or the peace that filled their hearts as they faced a certain death, the joy of knowing that today would be the day they met their Savior, or the gracious way many gave up their lives for their friend, showing what Christian brotherhood is all about. We also won't know about those who begged to understand why God was not answering their prayer for deliverance, those who did not find peace in that moment, and those who were in fear until the end. I would guess that even Christians fell into both of those categories. So what separated those who fell into the first group from those in the second? Was it their reliance and trust in our Father? Is it fair to say that those who fell into the second group had less faith? Was their faith overshadowed by the burdens of the moment, so much that the Grace of God could not be revealed to them?

This makes me think of my own life. When I am faced with trials, can I hear the Father calling me? Do I rest in the peace of His perfect will, or do I frantically try to find a solution on my own, which leads only to despair. I hate to admit that too often I fall into the latter group, why is that? I have faith, and I believe, but sometimes it is so hard to let go. Sometimes it is hard to understand that our Father has a love for me that surpasses understanding. In this love, he protects me from harm. That doesn't mean He "shelters" me, helping me to avoid any sort of trials in my life. It doesn't mean that the more I trust in Him, the easier life is, and the less troubles I will face. No, that type of understanding only leads to dissapointment, for it puts my fate back into my own hands......if I only tried harder, if I only spent more time in devotions or prayer. No, He is not a shelter to avoid the storm. But "GOD IS OUR REFUGE". In the midst of the storm, He provides a place of peace, a place of rest. Many times, we have to travel through the storm to get to the refuge, and after we are rested and filled, He encourages us to step back out into the storm. My God does not cause me to escape trials. Instead, He holds me through them, teaching me that if I can completely surrender, it is in His arms alone that I will find rest.

"Let the beloved of the Lord rest secure in Him, for He shields him all day long. And the one the Lord loves rests between His shoulders." ~ Deuteronomy 33:12

Beloved, may we rest in the grace and peace of God today. Amen