Thursday, June 28, 2018

How do I love my neighbor as I love myself?


36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself 40 On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets. Matthew 22:36-40
Everyone want to be treated fairly, in fact even small children when they don’t get their way, retort quickly by saying “That’s not fair!”  We know that the moral value that the world calls fairness, or Justice, or the sense of social responsibility is grounded not in our own subjective opinion. But rather it is found in a objective standard that is found outside and greater than you or I. We say that objective standard is on what is morally right God.

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So then when Jesus Says “You shall love your neighbor as you love yourself is He is not leaving the requirement up to your own standards but has grounded that in a standard greater then we. The best way to understand this passage by Jesus is to understand from which text he is quoting. Leviticus the book od law records it as such;
(Verse 9,10) When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest.  And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God
(Verse 11,12) “You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; you shall not lie to one another.  You shall not swear by my name falsely, and so profane the name of your God: I am the Lord.  
(Verse 13,14) “You shall not oppress your neighbor or rob him. The wages of a hired worker shall not remain with you all night until the morning.  You shall not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall fear your God: I am the Lord.  
(Verse 15,16) “You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor.  You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand up against the life of your neighbor: I am the Lord.  
(Verse 17,18) “You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him.  You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord. Leviticus 19:9-18

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So, let take a quick look at this passage, verse 9 and 10 says “Take care of the poor and needy because I am the moral standard for taking care of those in need.
·         Verse 11:12 God is saying “Be honest and upright because I am the moral standard for honesty”
·         Verse 13 and 14 God says, “Treat people you have strength over fairly, and with grace, because I have given you Grace”
·         Verse 15 and 16 We read “Do not judge a person because of his finance or race, or color, to subdue him because he is not like you. These things have no place in the kingdom. Rather be upright and fair toward all people because I am the moral standard of Justice.
·         Finally, in verses 17 and 18 God is saying, “Do not seek your own revenge, for what your neighbor has done to you, rather seek to forgive him, just as you would want to be forgiven.  because I am the Lord your God who has forgiven you and adopted you into my family.

Your brother in Christ.
Tcharves FireSpeaks

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