Neighborly Love, Godly Love

Good Morning!! Some laws are easy to keep. Don’t litter. Stay under the speed limit (alright, that’s not so easy for some of us). In Leviticus, laws like "Don’t round off your beard" or "Don’t eat uncooked meat" seem easy enough to keep. But verses 17 and 18 get increasingly difficult: "Don’t hate your brother in your heart,...don’t take revenge,...don’t bear a grudge." And then comes the biggie: "Love your neighbor as yourself." Did you even know that was from Leviticus?

"You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD."—Leviticus 19:17 (ESV)

The law says we are not to bear a grudge. We are to love others, even in confrontation. But how? The answer lies in the statement: "I am the Lord." God has loved us even when we disobeyed and looked the other way, something much bigger than canine carelessness. Only by seeing how God loves us can we begin to understand neighbor love.

All good laws, are based on the idea of doing unto others as you would have them do unto you,
...and they’re a form of neighborly love.

God of second chances, help us to love like You love. Amen.

"God speaks to those who take time to listen,...and He listens to those who take time to pray."
(OUR DAILY BREAD, Nov. 16, 2010)