I think of this passage (I need to commit it to memory so it will be at the ready) each time I have a conversation about that it means to be a Christian. Too often, we complicate the answer - we get into discussions about sacraments or acquiring understanding, or making a public profession. "The person who loves their neighbor has fulfilled the law."
Loving our neighbor, loving them for who they are rather than who we would like to see them become, means recognizing in them the mark and seal of God. It means recognizing their unseen pressures and their life-challenges. It means hearing from them the influences and voices which have molded their response to the world.
We meet a lot of new neighbors when we settle into our residence hall/apartment, when we go to a new set of classes, and when we get involved in extra-curricular activities. Don't be reserved - waiting until you understand the things referenced in the previous paragraph - before you extend to them the love of Christ. Loving those neighbors is where it begins, and where it ends.
There is another verse which comes to mind - What you give is what you receive. Freely offering the love of God is the surest route to that same love coming into your own life.
1 comment:
Yay, the devotions are back!!
Post a Comment