The Two Greatest Commandments
Part 4: Loving Others
The spiritual
ingredients contained within the greatest commandment of loving God make the
perfect recipe in loving those around us. In the first three parts of this
series we have focused on loving the Lord with the heart, soul and mind.
Without following it, there is no way of possessing the strength, consistency
and mindset needed to love others continually.
Now we know what it
takes to love God, let’s look at the second greatest commandment:
“And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Matthew (22: 39)
People are unavoidable
and even in remote places where there are distances between neighbors they show
up unexpectedly. The population of the world is no accident. God’s designed
plan (Genesis 1:28) intended for us to multiply. For this reason, the Lord
provided lots of opportunities for us to radiate our love towards others.
The easiest folks to
love are the ones we actually enjoy being around. We are willing to forgive
when they say or do things that hurt our feelings. It doesn’t take a lot of
Christian effort showing them our affection.
Jesus pointed this out:
Matthew (5:46)
“For if you love those who love
you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same.”
The real challenge is loving those we really dislike, despise or hate. We sometimes find them among family
members, at the office and within our circle of friends. They make us
emotionally uncomfortable and brings the conflict to our hearts. Our conscience
is disturbed, causing suffering within our souls. We rather not be around them,
but the circumstances won’t allow us from staying away.
So, how can anyone find
peace with those difficult people?
Finding the answer to
that question comes from building a face to face relationship with Christ. None
of us have the spiritual strength required to change someone else’s wrongful
behavior. Nothing we can say or any amount of our determination can do the job.
The only one who can is God. All we can do is change ourselves, and we can’t
even do that without the aid of Christ.
Making peace with our
enemies is tough. The pain they caused places a wedge between us. There is
nothing wrong from feeling hurt or angry over being mistreated. The Lord
fashioned us with emotions, and one of the reasons is knowing the difference
between right and wrong. He also provided us a way to forgive.
However, when we hold
onto negative feelings from other people’s sin, then we too are in the
wrong. Our Father is watching how we respond to being mistreated. Until we can
let go of our disturbances with the issue, and
then we won’t be able to love. We have to find the cause of our blockage
because an unforgiving spirit hardens the heart.
What actions can one take to move beyond the hurt?
The first thing is to
pray not only for yourself, but the trespasser. Praying for the one who has
wronged you shows God your willingness in setting aside the pain and ask Him to
help them. Now this may be difficult to do, and Christ understands the
resistance, but if you don’t try then the door to God’s grace remains closed.
I pray this prayer:
“Lord relieve me from being angry. How can I be of service to this person? Your will,
not mine be done.” When I honestly and
humbly express those words without any reservations, I find inner peace. The
presence of God flows into my soul and freedom from the emotional bondage emerges.
Another excellent tool
available is to write about the injustice. Taking a look at the situation on
paper begins the process of shedding light onto the sensitive encounter.
Stuffing negative emotions inside the soul drains the spiritual
energy God has provided and prevents us from loving others. And clinging to them
keeps them in the dark where they fester and grow. So, by releasing them on
paper exposes our motives.
The way I do the writing
exercise is to pray and ask myself questions. I usually start out like this:
Why am I so bothered by this injustice? What part if any did I play in the
situation? Did I provoke them? Do I feel entitled to hold on to anger? Am I resentful
at them? If so, what is the cause? How does that resentment affect me?
Answering those questions helps me to gain a better perspective on the
situation. As the result of doing this I am able to see clearly the whole
picture.
We have discussed in a
general way how to love others. Your experiences may be different. The only
thing that matters is for us to follow Christ’s commands and allow Him to be
our Director. In regards to loving difficult people, the best guidance we can
draw from is found in Matthew: 5:43-48.
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