Love your neighbor

Galatians 5
v. 13: For you are called to freedom brothers; only don't use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but serve one another through love.
v. 14: For the entire law is fulfilled in one statement: Love your neighbor as yourself.

If we love our neighbors, we won't steal, we won't kill, we won't commit adultery... We will love. We often hear I Corinthians 13:4-8a read at weddings:

v. 4: Love is patient; love is kind. Love does not envy; is not boastful; is not conceited;
v. 5: Does not act improperly; is not selfish; is not provoked; does not keep a record of wrongs;
v. 6: Finds no joy in unrighteousness, but rejoices in the truth;
v. 7: Bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
v. 8: Love never fails.

This is always so beautiful at a wedding...but have you ever considered this definition of love when it comes to loving your neighbor?? Think about it. That means you would always be kind; you would not be envious when your neighbor gets a brand new car and you're still driving the one that's being held together with duct tape; you would walk away when a friend has a piece of juicy gossip about your neighbor; and you would be patient when your neighbor cuts you off in traffic. I think you get the idea. So, who is your neighbor?? Jesus was asked that question. His answer was the story of the good samaritan. (If you're not familiar with the story, check out Luke 10:30-35) When he finished telling the story, Jesus asked who was a neighbor to the man that was robbed. The answer: the one who showed him mercy. Your neighbor is not just the person who lives next door to you; your neighbor is your fellow man.

Yesterday morning, our city lost one of its finest. An Indianapolis Police Officer who had made a routine traffic stop Sunday morning, was shot and yesterday died from his injuries. Whenever I hear of the death of a police officer, fire fighter or soldier in the line of duty, my heart is touched deeply. These people show the greatest love according to John 15:13...they lay down their lives for their friends...for their neighbors. When you think of it in those terms, the sacrifices we have to make in loving our neighbor don't seem quite so big.

May we ask God to help us to love as He would.

No one has greater love than this, that someone would lay down his life for his friends.  John 15:13

Thank you Officer David Moore