Prayer
Briefly prepare your heart in silence, and ask the Holy Spirit to awaken your sense of anticipation that God is about to speak to you through His Word. Then, before you read, I invite you to pray this simple prayer based on Psalm 133
Lord, I know that it is good and pleasing to You
when Your people live together in loving harmony.
There You bestow Your blessing of life forevermore.
So, please speak to me about this love today
and give me power to obey. Amen.
Reading
Immediately after Jesus declared the “first and greatest command” that we are to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul and mind, He followed up with what He called the second great command:
“Love your neighbour as yourself.”
There are those who suggest that this command tacitly includes the command to love ourselves. While I understand the logic, I am convinced that Jesus would not have had that in mind when He spoke. He did not live in the sort of “therapeutic culture” in which we find ourselves today, where the self is centred and focussed on so intentionally.
Rather, I suspect that Jesus took for granted that His listeners understood the instinctive way we human beings “look out for number one”. And so, in this command, He is highlighting the importance of “looking out for” our neighbours with the same degree of commitment we would apply to looking out for ourselves.
Remember that “love”, in this instance, is not the feeling of love. It is the intentional and active love the Greeks called “agape”. This kind of love implies always considering the best interests of others, and then seeking to further those best interests through our words and actions.
Only with this clear understanding of love will we be able to contemplate the possibility of obeying this commandment. After all, there will be many times we do not feel love towards others. We would not be likely to feel love for strangers; and even less so for those who have wronged us. And yet, just as Jesus did, we are called to choose not to be controlled by our neutral or negative feelings towards others. We are to choose to be led and empowered by the Spirit in actively speaking and seeking the highest best of others.
How might your life look different today if you chose to speak and act towards everyone you encounter in a way that seeks to build them up and further their best interests? Think about your diary for the coming day and pray for the Spirit to guide you in the path of neighbour-love.
Contemplation
Please take time to ponder what Jesus has commanded us. Turn one or more of these declarations over and over in your mind. Keep them in mind throughout the day and live in step with Your King, Jesus.
As a disciple of Jesus Christ:
- I will choose to consider my neighbour’s best interests.
- I will choose to speak and act in their best interests.
Come Holy Spirit, and empower me to love my neighbour as I love myself. Amen.
Dave's Diary 
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