Re: [TruthTalk] Love your neighbor as yourself

[Terry Clifton]

Slade Henson wrote: BT SAID -- I do not know how I would get along with [Hitler or Jeffrey Dahmer]. They may not be receptive to getting along. Still I do know this: no matter who moves next door, Jesus' commandment will not change. I am to love them the way I love myself -- or put another way, treat them the way I would like to be treated.   SLADE SAYS: The act of "loving" from Leviticus (which is quoted by Yeshua in his famous "love your neighbor" sermon) has nothing to do with warm fuzzies. Hebrew is a culture and a language of action... not of essence. We are commanded to LOVE which means we are commanded to ACT. I would ACT by speaking civilly to them, by helping them if they are ever doing something that looks like a second pair of hands would make the job a bit easier, or by opening up my home if they ever came a-knocking. ======================================================================================== Sounds like a good start to me Slade.  I think you'd make a good neighbor.  Too many people these days do not even know their neighbors names.  This is especially true in cities.  People are jammed next to each other in small apartments.  They come and they go and when they meet one another they either avert their eyes or nod silently.  We cannot live that way and say we love our neighbor.  There is an old song titled "Let others see Jesus in you".  When you love your neighbor the way Christ loves your neighbor, you are singing that song by your actions.  Jesus does not love us by giving us what we want.  He gives us what we need.  If you do not know your neighbor well, you cannot be certain just what that neighbors needs are, but we can start by knowing that all our neighbors need Jesus, just as much as we do. We need to tell them about our Savior, but before we talk, we need to listen.  Listening makes friends faster than anything I know. Terry