Love...God, Neighbor, Self

~~~ Hosea 14:2-10 ~~~ Psalm 81 ~~~ Mark 12:28-34 ~~~

I am the Lord your God: hear my voice.

At least during this time of Lent remove your ear plugs.

God has amazing things to tell you concerning his love for you.

There is only One God...

He is One and there is no other than he.

And to love him with all your heart,

with all your understanding, 

with all your strength,

and to love your neighbor as yourself

is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.

This profound response was given by Jesus.

It may be easy to say that you love God,

but do you love him completely?

Are you holding back part of your heart from God?

Have you given God all of your understanding?

Have you asked him for an understanding of his will in your life?

Do you actually want God to give you additional understanding?

Is it easier to claim ignorance rather than responsibility?

Is it easier to ask for forgiveness than permission?

How much strength does it take to love God?

Why does it even require strength?

It should be easy for us to love God with our whole being,

but the catch comes in the second part.

...and to love your neighbor as yourself

is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.

We often stop short of fully living this part.

Notice that this is written as one sentence.

Jesus did not say that loving him is all you need to do

 to enter the kingdom of heaven.

The concept of loving God and loving 

your neighbor is not even separated by a period.

It is one together.

Is God telling us that if we do not love our neighbor

 then we are not loving him?

How does that make you feel?

Perhaps it is the complete love we have for God 

that gives us the motivation to love our neighbor to the same degree.

Lent is the proper time to make amends

 with those estranged from us.

Loving God to the fullest comes with the necessary 

blessings to love your neighbor in kind.

~~~Peace~~~

Who is Your Neighbor?

~~~ Galatians 1:6-12 ~~~ Psalm 111 ~~~ Luke 10: 25-37 ~~~

 

To inherit eternal life you must...

"You shall love the Lord, your God,
with all your heart,
with all your being,
with all your strength,
and with all your mind,
and your neighbor as yourself."

 

The scholar of the law knew the correct answer even before he met up with Jesus.

You undoubtedly knew the correct answer before reading these verses as well.

 

The real question is how to accomplish this prescribed entry fee.

The first four points seem relatively easy...well at least doable.

It is the last few words that seem to send us into a tail spend.

'love God and your neighbor as yourself'

 

Even the scholar is struggling with this last phrase.

"And who is my neighbor?"

Jesus gives him an example.

First he sets up the scene...a man falls victim to some robbers,

he was stripped, beaten, and left on the side of the road for dead.

 

This victim represents the last person you would want to stop and help.

He is a stranger. He is a victim of a violent crime. He is naked. He is bruised and bloody. He is lying helplessly on the side of the road.

 

It would be easy just to pass him by; thinking that he was too needy.

Or thinking there was no use in stopping

 since he was too near death from his wounds.

 

Jesus describes someone as the neighbor that you would find difficult to love.

He does not give an example of a young woman

needing help carrying her water jugs

 up the hill to her house.

No.

Jesus uses an example of someone in a dire situation

to make his point even more emphatic.

 

To love your neighbor as you love God

you must be willing to overlook those you find less lovable...

those you might judge to be less worthy of love.

 

Jesus was implying that 'everyone' is your neighbor.
The victim is naked thus preserving his anonymity.

 

A priest and a Levite both go out of their way to ignore the victim on the side of the road. They both moved away from the victim to the other side of the road.

It might have been excusable if perhaps they had not seen the man, but they make the decision to move to the other side of the road.

They did not want to be bothered with this neighbor.

He was not someone they were willing to give care or attention to.

 

In fact they were willing to pretend that he did not even exist.

If they were on the other side of the road perhaps they were excused from helping.

How do you feel about that concept?

 

The Samaritan man goes above and beyond to help this man.

Not only does he give immediate care to his wounds,

but he carries him to a place to rest and further heal.

The Samaritan takes the victim to a place of safety.

He sees beyond the present situation.

 

Is this what it means to love with your whole heart?

Is this what it means to love your neighbor?

The Samaritan treated this man as a real neighbor.

He did not treat him as a stranger, which of course he was.

 

The Samaritan not only carried the man to a place of rest, but he remained there with him. He cared for the man. He put his own plans aside for this needy victim.

Would you be willing to make such a sacrifice?

Would you be willing to put your own agenda aside to care for a stranger?

 

 

I think it is safe to say that most of us would not go to such lengths.

We would not be able to show such love for a total stranger

who had been victimized and left for dead.

 

Today every state has what is called

'the Good Samaritan Law'.

This law was inspired by today's parable.

It protects someone who stops to give emergency aid to another person.

 

Even our laws seem to encourage us to care for a stranger

as if he were our neighbor.

A Good Samaritan is a person who sees the need to help someone

and reaches out to that person. 

 

Look for opportunities to love your neighbor

even if that person is a stranger.

Loving others as you love God and yourself is not an option

if you want to attain eternal life.

It is required!

God never promised it would be easy.