“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” – King Jesus
This commandment is the second commandment after “loving God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37-40).
Our love for neighbor flows from our love for God. It is through the gospel we are reconciled to the Father and in which we are made one with God. We are saved by grace through faith in Christ alone (Ephesians 2:4-5). Believers are compelled by the gospel to walk in the good works which God prepared beforehand for us (Ephesians 2:10). The gospel motivates our love for neighbor.
Brothers and sisters, meditate on the beautiful reality that your sins have been washed by the precious blood of the Lamb of God! Jesus satisfied the wrath of the Father by fulfilling the law, dying a substitutionary death, being buried, and rising from the grave. The Son of God humbled Himself to the “point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:6-8). Because He humbled Himself, He was exalted to “the name that is above every name” (Philippians 2:9). His humiliation led to His exaltation. It is through belief in this message that we are able to love and be in relationship with God.
This glorious news is also our “why” for loving our neighbor.
Loving our neighbor as our own selves can be applied in a myriad of ways. One of the ways we can apply this command is through Serve 2020.
Lord willing, we will be painting at Dacula Middle School, hosting a Backyard Bible Club, writing cards for Arbor Terrace residents, packaging and delivering goodie bags to West Hall Middle, delivering gift baskets to public servants, providing crafts and games in the park, doing yard work at Home of Hope, and praying for our community. I cannot wait to serve our community in a variety of ways together next week during Serve 2020!
May our motivation for serving our community be pure. May we desire to serve our community because our Lord and Savior has humbly served us in the greatest way imaginable!
The gospel of Jesus Christ does not merely motivate us to serve our community one week out of the year. May the Lord use Serve 2020 to open our eyes and hearts to those in our community that we may love our neighbors faithfully each and every day.
May our love for God fuel our love for our neighbors.
Written by Jonathan Mitchell