Leviticus 19: 18 Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord. --NIV
In the name of the Lord, amen.
This week we consider loving our neighbor. When we consider the difficulties that we have in our relationships with our spouses, parents and children, it becomes obvious that we do not generally love our neighbor as our self. As we move out from our family and consider our relationship to our boss, coworkers, and the people who live next door, it becomes clear that the situation is hopeless. Move away even further, and you will soon see that the state of human affairs would be laughable, if it were not so tragic.
Yet God expects us to love our neighbor as ourself no matter how hopeless it may seem. We actually do have the power to love our neighbor as ourself, albeit imperfectly. The power to love our neighbor as ourselves comes from God's love to us in Christ Jesus. Because God has shown His great love for us by saving us from sin and death, we now have the power to reflect that love to others. May God grant that we give a bright, clear reflection of that indescribable love. Amen.
Prayer:
Dear heavenly Father, You are truly full of love toward all creatures. You provide for all of Your creation daily sustenance. We cannot give proper thanks to You for Your kindness to us. But we ask that You accept the thanks we give, and daily provide not only physical sustenance, but also spiritual. We ask this so that we may have the power that comes for forgiveness to serve You with a pure heart, and reflect Your love to others. This we ask in Jesus name, amen.