Thou Shalt Love Thy Neighbor as Thyself

(Galatians 5:13-16) "For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.  For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.  But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.  This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh."  The Apostle Paul, in his letter to the church at Galatia is saying to the Galatians that if you want to know what the law is, it's summed up in one word:  That is to love thy neighbor.  There is no greater commandment than to love one another.  Jesus said in the Gospels the two greatest commandments are to love thy God with all thy heart and to love thy neighbor as thyself.  The biggest problem today's contemporary church faces is a lack of love amongst its members. That's why there's so much strife, contention, jealousy, gossip, and the list continues.  That's why it says in Galatians 5:16 to walk in the Spirit so we won't fulfill the lust of the flesh.  If we walk in the Spirit, we'll be more like Jesus.  The Holy Spirit will lead and guide us into all truth.  If we fall in love with Jesus, everything else will fall into place.

In Matthew 22:35-40, one of the Pharisees, which was a lawyer was asking Jesus which is the greatest commandment.  Here's what Jesus tells them:  "Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law?  Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.  This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.  On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."  The most important commandment is to love the Lord with all thy heart, mind and soul.  The second great commandment is to love thy neighbor as thyself.  What does it mean to love thy neighbor as thyself?  We as humans naturally think of ourselves when it comes to our needs, desires, and desiring the best things of life.  We should equally desire that for our neighbor, if not more.  In other words, we should be thoughtful toward the needs and interest of our neighbor like we naturally would towards ourself.  People have a tendency to think about themselves but ignore the needs of others.  However, Jesus is saying we should love our neighbor as thyself.  In order for that to be possible, then we need to fall in love with Jesus.  How do we fall in love with Jesus.  We fall in love with Jesus through the new birth.  When we become born again, God c;hanges us and gives us a new nature.  As a result our desires are different.  We develop an interest to love and please the Lord.  We develop the desire to walk with the Lord and follow his commandments.  If we love Jesus, then we'll love other people.  That's why the first great commandment is to Love the Lord with all thy heart, mind, and soul.  There's no way we can love the Lord with all thy heart, mind, and soul and not love thy neighbor as thyself.  You can't love the Lord and hate the brethren or your neighbor.  I John bears that out. 

I John 3:14 points out that we know we have passed from death unto life if we love the brethren.  When God gives us a new nature, he'll put a love in our heart for the bretgreb.  It says if we don't love our brother, we abide in darkness.  That's very serious.  We struggle with the flesh as much as we do in life because we haven't followed the first two commandments just mentioned.  If we get a hold on those two commandments, then everything else will fall into place.  Love compels us to live for God.  When we love God, it will cause us to love the brethren and to love those that are without Christ.

I Corinthians chapter 13 is considered the love chapter.  In the King James the word used is "charity", which is the fullest expression of love.  It's benevolence that's extended toward other people.  This type of love results in giving.  I Corinthians 13:4-6 says, "Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up.  Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth"  Charity thinks about others.  It's not self-seeking.  If we as God's people would practice charity towards one another and towards the world, then we can make a mark for God in this world.  We can devote all our time handing out gospel tracts door to door witnessing to people about Jesus.  However, if they seek a lack of love towards them, then all our witnessing is in vain.  We can't reach the world for Christ without charity.  The reason why our churches are in the mess they're in is because we don't practice charity.  The brethren in this day fail to practice charity towards another, much less towards our neighbor.  Even I have to plead guilty to this.  One of the fruit of the Spirit is love.  If we don't possess love in our heart towards one another, we aren't walking in the Spirit.  The Bible says if we walk in the Spirit, then the fruit of the Spirit will be made manifest.  As a result, we'll love our neighbor like the Bible says.

The statement Jesus made towards the Pharisee in Matthew 22 is very true.  The two greatest commandments are to love the Lord thy God with all they heart, mind, and soul.  The other commandment like unto it is to love thy neighbor as thyself.   On both of these commandments hang all the law and the prophets.  If we are saved by the grace of God, he'll change us and put a love in our heart--first toward God and then the brethren and our neighbor.  If our love is as it should be, then we'll follow the commandments of God.  You don't have to spend time reminding someone to follow God's commandments when they're in love with him.  When you're in love, there's the natural desire to please and make happy.  When we love God, our desires will be to please God and make him happy.  We'll have a desire to be conformed to the image of Christ.  Most of the problems that we face with our flesh will be resolved if we will love the Lord like we should.