Love Your Neighbors
“Why do you pass judgment on your brother or sister? Or you, why do you despise your brother or sister? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. For it is written, ‘As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall give praise to God.’ So then, each of us will be accountable to God. Let us therefore no longer pass judgment on one another, but resolve instead never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of another.”
Romans 14:10-13
In Matthew 22:37-40, Jesus answered a Pharisee’s question about which commandment was greatest. He said, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
In the two greatest commandments, we are called to love God and one another. This sounds simple, but some days it is a monumental task to love one another. We see evidence of this all around and even within our own hearts.
When Paul wrote his letter to the Romans, he gave them instructions on how to live with one another, how to be the church, how to be followers of Christ and how to love one another and love God. Paul wrote the letter because of how people lived and treated each other. In the letter, he wrote about being in the right relationships with God and with others. He saw and heard of people judging and despising their brothers and sisters, all children of God, and his answer was to remind them that each of us is accountable to God. In addition to not passing judgment on one another, we should not put a stumbling block in the way of another.
On those days when you are not feeling charitable, kind, and loving toward your neighbor, remember Paul’s instructions and do not be a hindrance or stumbling block that will prevent others from loving God and their neighbor. And when you focus on not getting in the way of your brothers and sisters loving Christ, you might find that you can love your neighbors.
Let us pray:
O God, the King eternal, whose light divides the day from the night and turns the shadow of death into the morning: Drive far from us all wrong desires, incline our hearts to keep your law, and guide our feet into the way of peace; that, having done your will with cheerfulness during the day, we may, when night comes, rejoice to give you thanks; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
“The Book of Common Prayer,” page 99
