These beautiful children are my neighbors. The boy is Aaron, who is one year old, and the girl is Cassy, she's his Aunt. They live over across the alley from me.
I have known Cassy since she was born. Aaron's mother is now 14 years old. Her name is Jessica.
I used to take Jessica to church, and VBS. Jessica is being raised up by her grand-mother, along with her two other sisters and a brother. And now there's a one year old child, who was born from a 13 year old mother, who has joined the family.
I am to love my neighbors. I don't love them enough really, but by God's grace I will continue to grow in my love for them, and all my neighbors.
But how do I love them? Well, how if we look at the fuller context of this most excellent verse of God's Word.
Lev. 19:17 says this: "You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him".
So here is an attitude of the heart, and a command to be done. If our neighbor sins against us, then we need to go to him, "instead of cherishing latent feelings of malice". Loving our neighbor means to endeavor, by calm and kindly reason, to bring him to a sense of his fault.
Verse 18 begins: "You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge".
I wonder if Paul was thinking of these verses when he wrote: " 'if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by doing you will heap burning coals on his head.' Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." Romans 12:20-21
Paul also says, " .. the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. The commandments, .. are summed up in this word: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself'. Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law." Romans 13:8-10
So the doing "no wrong", sometimes, must mean for us to confront. And this may be the most difficult "loving my neighbor" we have to practice. Nevertheless, we have to, don't we. Some neighbors can really get under my fingernails, and I need to learn to love them, the same as I love the neighbors who are more pleasant. And it's only by faith through grace that I'm able to love. Must always remember this truth, or we will either become puffed-up, or discouraged.
Jessica, Aaron's Mom, told one night that she had a baby. What to say? I simply sighed and shook my head a bit, and said, "Jessica". That was it. I then put my arm around her, to let her know I care about her. I have also met the father, and had some light-hearted talk. He was arrested and is in jail at the time being.
These are difficult things for me to do. To love, and, to speak the truth: There is nothing quite as straining on the heart, and taxing of the mind. At least it is for me. I sometimes am too timid to speak the truth, and simply show affection. Other times I may speak the truth with a self-righteous countenance. I believe to speak the truth in love is to feel compassion for others, and then to share the good news of Jesus Christ. Jesus is great news for sinners, isn't He. In fact, there couldn't be more awesome news for sinners.
But sometimes I feel timid, and fearful, to share Christ with others. Why is that? Well, I'll let that alone for now.
If you are so inclined, you could bow for a moment and ask the Lord to help these young people. They need to come to Christ, and to ask for forgiveness and mercy, no more, no less, then we all had to.
So, loving your neighbor isn't always easy, but it is always, always, rewarding, because it is God's second highest call to us. Second only to loving the Lord first and foremost.
And, we can love our Lord the most, when we love the least of these. Amen?
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