Loving Your Neighbor Means Sharing In Their Joys And Sorrows
The Bible says we are to rejoice with those who rejoice, mourn with those who mourn .;
Celebrating can be difficult for us at times, especially if our neighbor is getting something we have longed for. For example, a new job, a raise, or a pregnancy. Celebrating with them in spite of our own pain is a strong show of love.;
Likewise. mourning with our neighbor can be hard if we dont know what to say, or have recently lost something or someone ourselves. Loving your neighbor as yourself is showing up and being there with your heart open, allowing them to be what they are and support them.
The Bible Has A Lot Of Tough Commandments That Force Us To Push Ourselves
However, none is tasking as the command to love our neighbors as we love ourselves.
In fact, Mark 12:29 -31 tells us that this is the second greatest commandment, after the order to love God.
The most important one, answered Jesus, is this: Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these”, He says.
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Here are five Bible verses that prove how important this commandment is.
1. 1 John 4:21; “And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.”
2. Leviticus 19:18; “Forget about the wrong things people do to you. Don’t try to get even. Love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.”
3. Matthew 25:40; “The king will answer them, ‘I can guarantee this truth: Whatever you did for one of my brothers or sisters, no matter how unimportant they seemed, you did for me.'”
4. Matthew 7:12; “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”
Loving Your Neighbor Means Acting With Compassion
When Jesus was asked, Who is my neighbor? He responded with a story: the Good Samaritan. Even those who have no love for God see the value of the story. What is the bottom line of this story? Who did Jesus say was being a neighbor? The one who had compassion.;
Compassion is not simply a warm fuzzy feeling in our hearts. Compassion does something. A heart thats moved by compassion cannot sit idly by while someone suffers a need. Loving your neighbor as yourself is being moved to help to the full extent of your ability.;
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Loving Your Neighbor Means Receiving God’s Love
Too begin to love your neighbor as yourself, you need to know two things: you need to know what love is and that you are loved.;
The Bible tells us this is love. Not that we loved God but that He loved us and sent his Son as a propitiation . You are the object of this love. God loves you. Knowing this is imperative. And not just loved in a general kind of way, but deeply loved and unconditionally loved. We tap into this when we understand that God loved us first. Hes the source of our love. God loved us even before Jesus gave Himself for us. God the Father is the source of all love. Before we can give this love we need to receive it for ourselves. You cant give what you dont have.
Who Is Our Neighbor
A Pharisee once tried to test Jesus after asking Him what the greatest of the commandment was. The Pharisee asked, Who is my neighbor? Instead of giving a direct answer, Jesus Christ turned the question on the Pharisee by telling the parable of the Good Samaritan.;
The parable of the Good Samaritan tells the story of a man who was attacked by robbers on the road to Jericho. He was stripped of his clothes, beaten, and was left for dead. Soon after, a priest was passing by the same road and when he saw the man, he went to the other side of the road and continued on his way. A Levite then passed by, and he too moved to the other side of the road when he saw the man. But a Samaritan came by and when he saw the man, he took pity on him, poured oil and wine on his wounds, carried him on his donkey and brought him to an inn and took care of him there. The following day he gave the innkeeper two denarii and asked him to look after the man, adding that when he returns, he will compensate the innkeeper for any extra expense he may have. After telling the story Jesus asked the Pharisee which he thought among the three was a neighbor to the man who was robbed to which the Pharisee replied, The man who showed mercy. Jesus then told the Pharisee to go and do likewise.
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Matthew 2: 39 Translation & Meaning
What does this verse really mean? Use this table to get a word-for-word translation of the original Greek Scripture. This shows the English words related to the source biblical texts along with brief definitions. Follow the buttons in the right-hand column for detailed definitions and verses that use the same root words. Use this reference information to gain deeper insight into the Bible and enrich your understanding. Information based on Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance.
| KJV Verse |
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How To Love Your Neighbor
Love is compassionate and kind
Serving is a way of showing compassion. Love is compassion. Love is Kindness. You cannot love someone if you refuse to bestow compassion. You cannot love someone if you refuse to be kind. A lack of compassion and being unkind are both at their core self-centered, which is unloving.
26) Matthew 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works an glorify your Father in heaven.
27) 2 Corinthians 1:4 who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
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Loving Your Neighbor Means Serving Them
Serving from the heart is kindness in action. Kindness is one of the attributes of love listed in 1 Corinthians 13. The funny thing about kindness, though, is you can do acts of kindness without kindness residing in your heart. If the kind thing is done out of duty then it isnt love.;
Jesus said he came to serve . God, who is love, came to serve. Love serves. For you to love your neighbor as yourself, youll have a heart to serve them. Let them know youre there for them. If they need a ride somewhere, you drive them. If they need their dog or cat checked on while theyre out of town, you do that for them. Other examples are getting their mail for them or taking them a meal if theyre not well. Examples in a public setting are to let people in front of you in line at the store or in traffic.
What If The Bible Said Eh Go On And Love Your Neighbor If You Feel Like It And If They Are Nice You Don’t Have To And You Can Love Some And Not Others Like Those Who Don’t Deserve It
To do most things in life there is a prerequisite. Or, should we say, a recommended prerequisite? Lets say you want to bake a pie. Unless youve honed your baking skills , you may want to Google some directions, right? Of course, then you have to purchase the ingredients, preheat the oven, and so forth.;
What you dont do is justbake a pie.;
This same scenario can be applied to things all throughout your life. There is usually always a prerequisite something always needs to happen before something else can occur. And, guess what? There is a prerequisite to loving thy neighbor, too.;
God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.;
Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But, if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.
1 John 4:9-11
The Importance of Loving Thy Neighbor
Learning that we are to love our neighbors is so important perhaps that is why it is written at least 8 times throughout the Bible. Plus, Jesus spoke about it in parable and God even commanded it. Thats right he commanded it.
You are to love thy neighbor. End of discussion.
The Prerequisites
You must complete these prerequisites first.
Accepting Gods love
Who Are Your Neighbors?;
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The Only Thing That Really Counts
The weightier matters for us to discern are not merely external appearances, or legal states in which a man or woman may find themselves. God is not interested in these! The Father wants a faithful spirit, motivated by a love for Him and a desire to love your neighbour as yourself. A mans love for God will breed in him a desire to be faithful in all things, for this is what God is. He must consider any undertakings he has made and weigh up for himself whether his circumstances were such that he committed himself to the extent that he is still bound by his word. He must ask himself whether to marry again would involve a breaching of his own promises, or treachery against another indeed, whether he has trodden under foot the second and greatest commandment, You shall love your neighbour as yourself.
Perhaps we should see things from this viewpoint also, and not be partial in judgement. The severe punishments for adultery under the Law of Moses, were for a reason, namely, the emotional and psychological violence against another man, in taking his wife and we should not be tempted to overlay this sort of judgement upon a case where circumstances may be entirely different. All discipline must be with the object to save. In our zeal to uphold ideals we must ensure that our methods dont leave us guilty of another form of heartless violence against our brother or sister, which is entirely unwarranted.
Loving Our Neighbors By Praying For Them
One way that we can grow in our love for others is to pray for them. Ask God to burden our hearts for them, and to help us love others the way that He loves us. them and our hearts become soft towards them. I encourage you to be intentional. Ask those around you how you can pray for them.
35) Romans 12:12 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of Gods mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to Godthis is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what Gods will ishis good, pleasing and perfect will.
36) Romans 5:6-7 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die.
37) 1 Timothy 2:1 I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them.
38) 2 Corinthians 1:11 You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.
39) 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is Gods will for you in Christ Jesus.
42) Acts 1:14 They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.
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What Does It Mean To Love Your Neighbor As You Love Yourself
We as humans are naturally self-centered. We are this way because we are still dwelling in our sin riddled flesh. This however can make for a great application. Since we will instinctually take care of our own self we eat when our body says that we are hungry, we avoid heartache and pain at all costs we can see how we are to love others. We should instinctually reach out and care for others with the same fervor and attention that we give to ourselves. Identify ways that you can be intentional and caring with those around you.
1) Philippians 2:4 Do not be interested only in your own life but be interested in the lives of others.
2) Romans 15:1 So those of us who have a strong faith must be patient with the weaknesses of those whose faith is not so strong. We must not think only of ourselves.
3) Leviticus 19:18 Never get revenge. Never hold a grudge against any of your people. Instead, love your neighbor as you love yourself. I am the Lord.
4) Luke 10:27 And he answered, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.
5) Romans 13:8 owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who love his neighbor has fulfilled the law.
6) Matthew 7:12 so whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, fo this is the Law and the prophets.
Loving Your Neighbor Means Speaking Kindly
The childhood rhyme about stick and stones versus words is not true. Words build up or tear down. God created the world using words. The Bible says Jesus IS the Word .;
To love your neighbor as yourself is to use words to build them up. Speaking words of encouragement to someone whos down is the most obvious example but there are others. We can be more intentional with our words by looking for and magnifying the good. We can always find something good if well take the time to look for it. Examples of this are giving someone a compliment and telling someone you appreciate them.;
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What Does The Parable Of The Good Samaritan Teach Us About Neighbors
The Parable of the Good Samaritan is found in Luke 10:25-37. Jesus was asked directly by an expert in the law Who is our neighbor? Jesus responded, as he so frequently did, in a parable.;
In this parable, a man was beaten and tossed on the side of the road by robbers. Three people pass this man on the road from Jericho to Jerusalem. The first man is a priest, the second man is a Levite and the third a Samaritan. The first two men passed by the beaten man without helping, while the third stopped to help the man. Jesus asks the expert in the law, Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers? The answer to Jesus question was the third man, the Samaritan, who stopped and showed mercy.;
Jesus then points out how love should expand over cultural boundaries and ethnic lines, as the Samaritan is the one who stopped to help. Jews and Samaritans clashed mainly over religious differences, but also cultural differences, which produced hatred among many inside both groups. The Samaritan put aside any negative judgments about the man on the side of the road and chosen to delay his errand. Because he put the man before himself, he was truly loving him as a neighbor. This teaches us that our neighbors are not those who simply look, act and think like each of us.;
Gods Love Compels Us To Love Our Neighbors
We are commanded to love others. This is not a call to allow other people to walk all over us. Nor is this a call to ignore the other Biblical commands such as speaking the truth in love. Even if it is a truth that they would rather not hear, we are to speak it gently and out of love.
Loving others due to Gods love is a realization that God loves us so completely and fiercely that we are to show others that same love. God loves us with a jealous love He will not allow anything in our life that will hinder our relationship with Him. So should our love drive others to Christ.
12) Ephesians 2:10 For we are Gods handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
13) Hebrews 6:10 For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having ministered and in still ministering to the saints.
14) 1 Corinthians 15:58 My dear brothers and sisters, stay firmly plantedbe unshakabledo many good works in the name of God, and know that all your labor is not for nothing when it is for God.
15) 1 John 3:18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.
16) John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
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