October 9, 2019 –
- God commands it.“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this, all men will know that you are My disciples if you have love for one another,” (John 13:34-35) “Now as to the love of the brethren, you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another,” (1 Thessalonians 4:9).
- “God first loved us. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever beheld God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us” (1 John 4:11, 12).
- Love covers sin. “Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8). “The one who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling” (1 John 2:10).
- Love fulfills the royal law. According to Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well” (James 2:8). “Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. Love does no wrong to a neighbor; love, therefore, is the fulfillment of the law” (Romans 13:8, 10).
- Those Who Love Are Born of God. “Beloved, let us love one another because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God” (1 John 4:7).
To stay focused on the priority of loving your neighbor, keep in mind that when you love your neighbor, you make God visible.
Keys to Better Neighbor Relationship
Are you interested in the other person? Do you know them as a person? Are you aware of their name, where they work or go to school? What are their hobbies, and how many people are in their family? Where or do they attend church? How is their health? What are their interests?
As much as anything, loving one’s neighbor comes from wanting to make a difference in people’s lives. If you say you love God, does it show in your relationship with others? If a neighbor has a need and you have it within your power to satisfy that need, do you act? God’s Word says, “But whoever has the world’s goods, and beholds his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?” (1 John 3:17). “Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due when it is in the power of your hand to do so” (Proverbs 3:27). “Bear one another’s burdens, and thus, fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:2).
You can meet the needs of your neighbor in many ways but, the evidence of love for your neighbor shows in your sincere desire that they repent from their sins and receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
“Since you have in obedience to the truth purified our souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart” (1 Peter 1:22).
“Let no one seek his own good, but that of his neighbor” (1 Corinthians 10:24).