Love Your Neighbor

What does it look like to love your neighbor as yourself? No seriously, what does that mean? How do we do it? How can it be lived out? Is it even possible?

Ever since I became serious about following Jesus I have been struggling with this one question. I think it’s the hardest thing that we are asked to do as Jesus followers. This is especially true in our culture where we have been largely isolated by technology and we are largely experiencing the world through a curated media.

We have access to more information about the world than ever before. You would think that this would help us to understand one another better and see the common ground between us. But, because the information is curated and spun, the opposite is true.

When I watch the news of the day, I see caricatures of my beliefs. I see caricatures drawn of my friends who are different from me. So many times I think, “That’s not even close to accurate. They don’t really believe that.” These things create distance between us.

The result of all this is it makes it very, very difficult to love your neighbor.

Here is what I’m learning about loving my neighbor:

• I have to know my neighbor. I have to get up close and personal. I can’t know them from afar.
• Relationship is fundamental. Not a digital connection, but a real life, face to face relationship.
• Time is necessary. It takes time to gain knowledge and relationship.
• Humility is required. We cannot possibly begin to love our neighbor apart from setting aside our self interest.

Knowledge, relationship, time, and humility. If we can begin to embrace these four concepts then we can begin to learn to love our neighbor as ourselves. These are not easy things. In all of them, we must deny ourselves. Self-denial is beyond most of us. It’s simply too hard.

Loving my neighbor. I don’t know if I’ll ever really get it. I really want to though.

The post Love Your Neighbor appeared first on The Journal by Daniel M. Rose. It was written by Daniel M. Rose.

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