Who Is Your Community?Sample

THE KEY TO COMMUNITY IS LOVE

Jesus said to him,“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”Matthew 22:37-40a

Jesus instructed us in Matthew 22:37-40 with two commandments. The first he called the greatest, followed by the second to love our neighbors.

I had no idea the pain and nausea I was experiencing would open my eyes to the truth He wanted me to see in that second commandment.

As the day progressed, I knew I needed help, so I called my neighbor, who graciously drove me to the emergency room of our local hospital. She not only checked me in but stayed with me for about three hours until my son could get there.

As testing began, I was learning a precious lesson!

• It is often difficult to ask of others, especially when we know they are busy, but by asking, I was allowing her to operate in the love Jesus taught.
• I was also discovering through the experience how much being a neighbor means.
• Jesus wasn’t just speaking of the next-door neighbor but of anyone in need.

Prayer: Lord, I am amazed that You placed neighbors second in line to your first command with how we are to love. You responded to the expert of the law who questioned You about how to have eternal life with an answer. The answer was to love your neighbor as oneself. May we each learn to be genuine neighbors. In Jesus’ Name. Amen