June 7th 2020
To love your neighbor, you must love yourself first!
Matthew 5:43-46a (NIV)
"You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get?
Are you working in this world to earn a reward in heaven? Or are you working in this world to earn possessions with great worldly value. Can you work to gain both? It seems to me that Jesus taught that we need to concentrate on earning rewards for the afterlife, and then, you will receive your worldly needs! I do not understand that Jesus will give you excess worldly things if you work to earn heavenly rewards. However, in this cursed world it appears to me that other members of mankind can take the worldly rewards that you have gained for their own wants! We have been watching, or may be even participating, in what are termed peaceful protests all around this country to protest racial prejudice. Always when such so called peaceful protests are formed, there are groups that immediately form to use this as an opportunity for them to break windows so they can loot stores, and then just for hate they often set fire to these places of employment!
Yes. I know writing about this is dangerous, as people will be offended by my simple reasoning about what is being attempted in these peaceful protests. Therefore, I will not try to present any detailed description of the ideas being expressed. There is no question in my mind that there is racial prejudice in this world. If we would follow the teaching of Jesus about loving our neighbor as He taught “Love your neighbor as yourself.” When Jesus was asked what the greatest command is, Jesus replied: "‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." (Matthew 22:37-40). Jesus was telling us that love is what God tells us we need to understand this life, and to live in this world peacefully.
In the selected verses Jesus gives us another command for living in this cursed world. He told us, "You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. So, Jesus is teaching that His followers are not only to love their neighbors, but we are also show love toward those who have chosen to be our enemies! That is certainly a difficult command to follow! Racial prejudice makes no sense from a Christian perspective, as we should not even recognize races, as the Bible teaches there is only one race, and it is the human race. All the people on this earth today are descendants of the sons of Noah! We were all originally created by God on the sixth day of creation, therefore we are all members of mankind! There are only people groups that formed after the tower of Babel when God created many new languages.
There is evil in this world which that first sin committed by Adam and Eve brought into the then perfect world, and it still causes all of us to have to overcome the sinful nature that we all inherited from Adam. This sinful nature is easily seen to possess those who take advantage of the peaceful protests and steal merchandise from the stores they vandalize and loot. None of us are truly good people, as we all possess a sinful nature. In this world we must be taught to hate other members of mankind. The more natural response is to love others because Jesus built that into us at the start of creation. After Jesus told the parable of the “Good Samaritan” He then asked the expert in the Jewish laws who he thought was the man’s neighbor. Jesus asked him, "Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?" The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him." Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise." (Luke 10:36-37). In this world we need try to think like Jesus does about other human beings and try to always love them as special created beings worthy of our love!
Paul wrote about how the commandments dealing with human relations can all be summed up to be followed because of love. The commandments, "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder," "Do not steal," "Do not covet," and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself." (Romans 13:9). Paul even went farther to sum up the entire laws of God can only be honored and followed because of love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself." (Galatians 5:14). James also wrote about his belief that love is the answer for us to abide by God’s laws. If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, "Love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing right. (James 2:8). Are you doing right by trying your best to love your neighbors?
I certainly do not have any easy answer for the unrest we see all around us these days. In the midst of the corona virus, we now have civil unrest, and at its worst with killing innocent people and looting and burning stores of people who are not directly connected to the protest marchers. So, let us try to end this commentary on a note of love. Paul wrote about what real love looks like, and how, to live in love not in hate. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. (1 Corinthians 13:4-8a). As Paul writes for us, true “Love never fails.”
"Love your neighbor as yourself." To love your neighbor, you must love yourself first! For it states, as you love yourself!
Your brother in life through Adam, your brother in eternity through Jesus,
Bob Moak
Matthew 5:43-46a (NIV)
"You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get?
Are you working in this world to earn a reward in heaven? Or are you working in this world to earn possessions with great worldly value. Can you work to gain both? It seems to me that Jesus taught that we need to concentrate on earning rewards for the afterlife, and then, you will receive your worldly needs! I do not understand that Jesus will give you excess worldly things if you work to earn heavenly rewards. However, in this cursed world it appears to me that other members of mankind can take the worldly rewards that you have gained for their own wants! We have been watching, or may be even participating, in what are termed peaceful protests all around this country to protest racial prejudice. Always when such so called peaceful protests are formed, there are groups that immediately form to use this as an opportunity for them to break windows so they can loot stores, and then just for hate they often set fire to these places of employment!
Yes. I know writing about this is dangerous, as people will be offended by my simple reasoning about what is being attempted in these peaceful protests. Therefore, I will not try to present any detailed description of the ideas being expressed. There is no question in my mind that there is racial prejudice in this world. If we would follow the teaching of Jesus about loving our neighbor as He taught “Love your neighbor as yourself.” When Jesus was asked what the greatest command is, Jesus replied: "‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." (Matthew 22:37-40). Jesus was telling us that love is what God tells us we need to understand this life, and to live in this world peacefully.
In the selected verses Jesus gives us another command for living in this cursed world. He told us, "You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. So, Jesus is teaching that His followers are not only to love their neighbors, but we are also show love toward those who have chosen to be our enemies! That is certainly a difficult command to follow! Racial prejudice makes no sense from a Christian perspective, as we should not even recognize races, as the Bible teaches there is only one race, and it is the human race. All the people on this earth today are descendants of the sons of Noah! We were all originally created by God on the sixth day of creation, therefore we are all members of mankind! There are only people groups that formed after the tower of Babel when God created many new languages.
There is evil in this world which that first sin committed by Adam and Eve brought into the then perfect world, and it still causes all of us to have to overcome the sinful nature that we all inherited from Adam. This sinful nature is easily seen to possess those who take advantage of the peaceful protests and steal merchandise from the stores they vandalize and loot. None of us are truly good people, as we all possess a sinful nature. In this world we must be taught to hate other members of mankind. The more natural response is to love others because Jesus built that into us at the start of creation. After Jesus told the parable of the “Good Samaritan” He then asked the expert in the Jewish laws who he thought was the man’s neighbor. Jesus asked him, "Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?" The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him." Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise." (Luke 10:36-37). In this world we need try to think like Jesus does about other human beings and try to always love them as special created beings worthy of our love!
Paul wrote about how the commandments dealing with human relations can all be summed up to be followed because of love. The commandments, "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder," "Do not steal," "Do not covet," and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself." (Romans 13:9). Paul even went farther to sum up the entire laws of God can only be honored and followed because of love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself." (Galatians 5:14). James also wrote about his belief that love is the answer for us to abide by God’s laws. If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, "Love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing right. (James 2:8). Are you doing right by trying your best to love your neighbors?
I certainly do not have any easy answer for the unrest we see all around us these days. In the midst of the corona virus, we now have civil unrest, and at its worst with killing innocent people and looting and burning stores of people who are not directly connected to the protest marchers. So, let us try to end this commentary on a note of love. Paul wrote about what real love looks like, and how, to live in love not in hate. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. (1 Corinthians 13:4-8a). As Paul writes for us, true “Love never fails.”
"Love your neighbor as yourself." To love your neighbor, you must love yourself first! For it states, as you love yourself!
Your brother in life through Adam, your brother in eternity through Jesus,
Bob Moak
|
|
|