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| To Bring Yesterday's Sermon Into Focus, Today's Verse |
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If you recognize the verse in Leviticus that reads in Chapter 19:18
Love thy neighbor as you love thyself.
You'll realize where this is going. Not only is there this verse but in the gospel of the New Testament it is repeated. This tells you that this is a belief carried down through the generations. The verse that repeats this is found in the book of James Chapter 2:8
If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, 'Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself', ye do well:
Notice, it calls this verse from Leviticus "royal law" according to scripture. Well, what is "royal law"? Royal law is "divine law" it comes directly from God himself.
And, if we love our neighbors as we love ourselves, then we are obeying that law. How can we love ourselves and our neighbors as ourself? There's a tough one for some people. We can love our family members, and make friends and love them, but can we truly learn to love our neighbors like we love our family and friends? It isn't as hard as you think.
For instance, earlier this year our truck got stuck in a ditch and we couldn't get it out through normal means. Our neighbor from across the street has a truck of equal size. He came out, hitched our truck to his, and pulled it out of the ditch. He proved that loving thy neighbor as thyself is possible. If he had been in that situation he would have appreciated the help, as we appreciated his. This is the epitome of that.
Another example is this past Thanksgiving when a military wife was alone for the holiday, Reverend Teresa, her husband and my family were all here that day and opened our home to her so she wouldn't be alone. Love thy neighbor as thyself.
You see, it is not so hard to love thy neighbor and love yourself at the same time. One of our members tries to do this all the time, but others who don't understand his needs are afraid to realize what can be. This frustrates him, as it should, because I am certain others have been in this situation, where what you see isn't what you get. Well, that leads us into another verse, and we'll leave it at that. This is the Word and the Light as brought to us through Jesus Christ, Amen and so it shall be.
Reverend Laura A. Neff
The Rainbow Minister |
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| To add a comment to "To Bring Yesterday's Sermon Into Focus, Today's Verse" |
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| August 15, 2008 |
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Very good point Rev. Laura. With many of us what you see isn't what you get. For unless we truly share, others have no way of knowing what is going on in our private little worlds. It's even the same within our own families as at times our families hide things from us. They don't want to worry us or they are embaressed by what ever it is that is happening in their lives so they shut it inside. We have to reach out to all as we can. For it is through loving others that we can learn to love ourselves. Sometimes that is a hard thing for us to do all the time, LOVE OURSELVES, we get so caught up in what we are doing to help others that we abuse ourselves and our own families. So we have to make sure we are loving ourselves as we love others as well. This verse can go both ways!
God Bless!
Rev. Teresa |
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| August 15, 2008 |
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i am guilty of helping others and not loving myself sometimes and have to change that as if i cant love myself how can you love another love this ...
Delores |
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| August 16, 2008 |
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Time and again I see people who are living in the bondage of hate and unforgiveness. They cannot let go of the wrong done, the mistake made, or what has happened. The offender...themself. In a self-made prison they are chained to what was or what is. Guilt covers the windows like bars and shame has them locked securely in a place of ineffectiveness. Powerless to help themselves or others.
Whenever the Spirit begins to speak to this person's heart the accuser of the brethren quickly speaks their offense. Like a person at a parole hearing they sit and hear their wrong emphasized and their change scrutinized and questioned. The merciless warden of this prison system never paroles and makes sure no one who sits in judgement of them hears the truth. I know for I was once imprisoned there.
But the GOD of all mercy, rich in forgiveness, ready to release all who call on Him, heard my cries of anguish over the sin I had committed. The wrong I had done to another, the disgrace I was to my GOD and the church remained. I "starred" in someone's "christian horror story". I carried this guilt for so long, long after finding a place of repentance.
Love is the courage that opens the prison door and walks out of prison. Love does not know where it will go from there. It only knows it cannot stay. Love hears the accusations and even the gunshots fired as they "escape" from the prison of lies into truth.
Loving your neighbor as yourself is fulfilling the royal law of "no child left behind". It is seeing past the offense of another, their conduct, their language. Loving your neighbor as yourself understands what Jesus meant when He said, "But if ye knew what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless."
Loving your neighbor as yourself sees the beauty of the rose and embraces instead of the thorns and avoiding. Loving your neighbor as yourself sees difficulty as an opportunity instead of a barrier. Loving your neighbor as yourself will care instead of being careful, will minister to not at, will hurt for your neighbor instead of hurting your neighbor. Loving your neighbor as yourself will be Jesus to your neighbor instead of just telling your neighbor about Jesus.
Only when we love ourself (not self-love) can we truly love our neighbor.
.....peace..... |
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