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Introduction
This week I would like to take a look at “Love”; what is it?
Let us take a look at some Bible Verses and see if we can get a perspective on ‘what love is.’
Who is my Neighbour and why should I love them!
Leviticus 19: 18: Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbour as yourself. I am the LORD.”
God is Love.
1 John 4: 8: Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
Love of the Most High God.
Psalm 21: 6 - 7: Surely you have granted him unending blessings and made him glad with the joy of your presence. For the king trusts in the LORD; through the unfailing love of the Most High he will not be shaken.
My Relationship with the God of Love.
1 John 4:16: And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.
Oh, What Love.
1 Peter 2: 22 - 23: He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth. When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.
Further Thoughts on Who is your Neighbour.
Luke 10: 36 - 37: Which of these three do you think was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of robbers? The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
Like Father, Like Son.
John 3: 16 : For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Which is the greatest commandment in the law? You might be thinking: so who is my neighbour? You might even have noticed a ‘hidden prerequisite’ in this command by the LORD, i.e., you need to learn to love yourself first; not selfishly but, with the kind of honest, nurturing attention that recognises your real needs and responds appropriately. What do you think that kind of healthy, self-knowledge and self-care looks like in practice? Let us see if we can come to an understanding of what love could look like from another perspective. Matthew 22: 36 - 40: Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments. The command to love your neighbour as yourself is exemplified by Jesus in his parable: The Good Samaritan. [see Luke 10: 30 - 37]. Amen.