Love Neighbor

Love does no harm to a neighbor.  Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. ~ Romans 13:10

Neighbors.  They come and go, but do you know a neighbor is defined as, “one living”, “or located near another”?  One living.  That means everyone is your neighbor.  So really what this verse says is love doesn’t harm anyone.  Basically if you can follow in the footsteps of love for everyone, you are living the way Christ did.  We may still have to have hard conversations and conflict will always be part of our lives, and we may even have to set up boundaries with people to keep ourselves sane, but when we are doing these things with them in mind and with a right heart attitude it’s still considered love.  After all, think about the ways the Israelites displeased God in the Old Testament and how many times they had to be disciplined.  Yet God still loved them.  Love doesn’t mean the absence of conflict, or that you always have to see eye to eye.  Love means that we work through the hard with respect and dignity and we help others in their time of need expecting nothing in return.  Love is learning to agree to disagree and acknowledge differences with respect.  Love means treating everyone the same way you would want to be treated.  Instead of pointing out the differences, why can’t we look at all the similarities, and love people for who they are and where they are at?  As a follower of Jesus, I am called to live a life of integrity and love everyone who crosses my path – even when they are a complete polar opposite of myself as they were still made in God’s image and He loves them.  But how do I do this?  We can only take on this attitude towards others by walking in God’s truth and word.  I pray Lord, that you would help me love others as you have loved me and help me be a vessel of your love to everyone I meet. ~ Amen