Love Thy Neighbor
Last month we focused on the greatest commandment to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” This means we put God before all the other things that can quickly fill up our day. After Jesus’ response in Matthew 22:37, he quickly gives the second part in the next verse, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Key Points
· God calls us to love others, just as He loves us.
· We show love to others by forgiving, accepting and honoring them.
· We can only love others when we are full of God's love.
Lesson: One day an expert on God’s law asked Jesus, "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment?" Ask if they remember how many commandments there are? There are ten, aren't there? Explain there were ten on the tablets of stone that God gave to Moses, but the Jews actually had 613 laws. There were 248 do's and 365 don'ts. Wow! That is a lot of do's and don'ts isn't it? Can you imagine trying to remember all of that? I don't think we need to. Listen to what Jesus said to the lawyer.
Jesus answered, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind,' this is the greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." In other words, Jesus was saying that if we could keep these two commandments, we would not have any trouble keeping the others.
The New Testament contains 54 "one another" passages that teach us how to love. We’re going to take a look at three of them today. (Divide the following scriptures between family members to read.)
Colossians 3:13 - This verse tells us we love others by doing what? Forgiving others The ultimate example of forgiveness was displayed when Jesus hung on the Cross and cried out for those who were crucifying Him: "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing" (Luke 23:34). We should forgive others even when they don't deserve it or ask for it. That demonstrates a love that keeps no record of wrongs (1 Corinthians 13:5).
Romans 15:7 - This verse tells us we love others by doing what? Accepting others for who they are To truly love someone, you must avoid trying to change the person for your own purposes. Accepting love is patient and kind, even when someone does not do what you want them to do or doesn’t meet your expectations (1 Corinthians 13:4).
Romans 12:10 - This verse tells us we love others by doing what? Honoring others Honor means to think of someone as highly valuable. It leads us to treat others as though they are personally autographed by God. When we value others more than ourselves, we are emulating the attitude of Christ (Philippians 2:3-5).
Application: All these scriptures tell us to put others before ourselves. Forgiving, accepting, and honoring others should not be based on how you feel about the person or what that person does. We are going to practice putting others before ourselves this week as a family. Place note cards and pencils on the table. Each person takes the same number of note cards as family members. (If you have four members in your family, each person gets four note cards.) Have each person write their name and something that another family member can do for them this week, but set aside the last card. Examples: give a back rub, empty the dishwasher, clean their room, etc. Once everyone is done, have each person pass out one of their cards to each family member. Remind them that loving others is not about whether they like to do what is written on the cards, or if they think the other person deserves it, or even whether or not they feel like loving that person. It’s about loving as Jesus loved. He loved thieves, tax collectors, diseased people, poor people, children and His followers. He loved people who were devoted to Him and those who were different from Him. He even loved difficult and dangerous people.
Gather hands and lead the family in prayer asking God to help your family love others as themselves. To be forgiving, accepting, and honoring towards each other and the other people in their lives to show what the true meaning of love is. Loving others the way Christ loves each one of them. Ask for God to speak to each person’s heart on how they can show love to someone they don’t really feel like loving. Whether it be through providing forgiveness, accepting someone just the way they are, or valuing someone more than you have in the past. Give time for the Spirit’s leading. Thank God for his Word and direction in each of your lives and the ability to follow his commands through His guidance, strength, and examples of love.
On the last card, have each person write something they can do for a friend or “neighbor” this week to show forgiveness, acceptance, or honor. Examples: write a letter of forgiveness to someone, invite someone to play or have coffee with that you don’t really like to be around or annoys or frustrates you, call or send a card to let someone know how much you appreciate them, etc. Have each person share their cards. Explain for accountability each night at dinner everyone will share way(s) they put others before themselves that day. It is up to each person on whether they want to do one a day or more. Continue sharing throughout the week until everyone’s cards are done. You can also open the conversation up for family members to share other ways they showed love or saw love being shown by others. Have a small basket or bag on the table that cards can be dropped in.
John 13:34
"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
