Love thy neighbor

Jesus said "love thy neighbor," but do we? We we really care about others? From some of what I have seen in the past few days, I would have to say no (sadly).

I saw so much drama on Sunday and Monday. In a seperate matter I have also started feeling very much alone. I have no spouse and no roommate and all of my relatives are out of state. Sometimes it is hard to remember that I am loved, even though I know God loves me very much. This is at the heart of the whole love thy neighbor thing. If we are really loving our neighbors, we are helping to make them feel secure - loved - part of a community. It doesn't seem like it would be that hard at all.

Jesus was summing up all the law in these two statements. If we love the Lord God with all our heart, soul and mind, loving our neighbor is the natural result. The question then is, who is our neighbor, and how do we love him or her? Well, what do YOU think? Is our neighbor more than the guy next door? Could he or she be someone in our community or almost anyone we meet? Could our enemies also be our neighbors? Jesus says that it's so. But how can we love someone who acts hatefully toward us? When we love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, we grow to recognize that everyone is part of His creation.

Now let me point out that nowhere does it say we have to like our neighbor!

Before you next go to bed, make a point of doing something nice for someone else. Also, see if you can bring some happiness to everyone you come in contact with - I bright cheery hello to folks is a good start. You just might be on the way to loving!