“The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:31
August 12, 2024
Jesus tells us that His followers are to love in response to God’s love. People are to be loved with the zeal by which we pursue our own happiness. This is not a call for self-love. That is a given. We are good at pursuing what is in our own best interest. We are to seek the good of our neighbor, just as we naturally seek our own good. We go about neighbor-love by fulfilling our responsibilities to them. We learn from Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan, that we stop what we are doing, take a risk, make a sacrifice by using our “oil, wine, and money” to do what is best for our neighbor. These neighbors can come in surprising places. This love is not mere sentiment toward a mass of people. Nor is it mere feelings of tolerance. I am a neighbor when I show mercy to those in need of help. Beware of the trap of being too busy to love. Jesus was never too busy to make time for people in distress.
H
“O merciful Father, help me to not be in such a hurry to make myself happy that I overlook obedience to your commandments.”
“I do not have time to be in a hurry.” John Wesley.