Scripture reveals in Luke 10 that God calls His people to love Him with everything in them. This command does not stop there, however. There is another command given in Scripture that God's people must follow: “Love your neighbor as yourself” (verse 27). Both of these things, love for God and love for one‘s neighbor, are critical for every follower of Christ if they want to follow Him.
We saw in our Bible study yesterday that a religious leader asked Jesus the question, "What should I do to inherit eternal life?" (verse 25). In response, Jesus asked this religious leader to tell Him what Scripture says (verse 26). The man answered that Scripture commands God's people to love God and to love their neighbor (verse 27). Today, our focus will be on the second part of this teaching from Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself” (verse 27). This command answers two critical questions: Who are we called to love? How can we love our neighbors? The first question that this command answers is who we are called to love: our neighbors. A broad definition of a neighbor can be "anyone near us." That means that whoever is near us is our neighbor. In other words, we are to love the people whom we are surrounded by. We don't always get to choose who is around us, but we are always called to show love to them. The second question this command answers is how we are to love our neighbors. We are to love our neighbors in the same way that we love ourselves. That means we treat them the way we want to be treated and that we have compassion for them just like we would want others to have compassion for us. This kind of love is radical. After all, the world tells us to look out for ourselves, yet Christ compels His followers to love others in the same way that we want to be loved.
The command we have as Christ followers is simple, to love our neighbors just like we love and care for ourselves. To show this kind of love requires intentionality. We have to purposely look out for the needs of the people around us and make time to show Christ’s love to them. It's time that we all take seriously this command to “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Take a few minutes to look at your own life. When it comes to loving your neighbor, how are you doing? Are you looking around for the needs of others that you see around you, or are you only focused on yourself and your needs? After evaluating, come up with one specific way you can love your neighbor well and make a plan to do that thing to love your neighbor this week. After all, God’s love compels us to love others, too.
1The Lord now chose seventy-two other disciples and sent them ahead in pairs to all the towns and places he planned to visit. 2 These were his instructions to them: “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields. 3 Now go, and remember that I am sending you out as lambs among wolves. 4 Don’t take any money with you, nor a traveler’s bag, nor an extra pair of sandals. And don’t stop to greet anyone on the road.
5 “Whenever you enter someone’s home, first say, ‘May God’s peace be on this house.’ 6 If those who live there are peaceful, the blessing will stand; if they are not, the blessing will return to you. 7 Don’t move around from home to home. Stay in one place, eating and drinking what they provide. Don’t hesitate to accept hospitality, because those who work deserve their pay.
8 “If you enter a town and it welcomes you, eat whatever is set before you. 9 Heal the sick, and tell them, ‘The Kingdom of God is near you now.’ 10 But if a town refuses to welcome you, go out into its streets and say, 11 ‘We wipe even the dust of your town from our feet to show that we have abandoned you to your fate. And know this—the Kingdom of God is near!’ 12 I assure you, even wicked Sodom will be better off than such a town on judgment day.
13 “What sorrow awaits you, Korazin and Bethsaida! For if the miracles I did in you had been done in wicked Tyre and Sidon, their people would have repented of their sins long ago, clothing themselves in burlap and throwing ashes on their heads to show their remorse. 14 Yes, Tyre and Sidon will be better off on judgment day than you. 15 And you people of Capernaum, will you be honored in heaven? No, you will go down to the place of the dead.”
16 Then he said to the disciples, “Anyone who accepts your message is also accepting me. And anyone who rejects you is rejecting me. And anyone who rejects me is rejecting God, who sent me.”
17 When the seventy-two disciples returned, they joyfully reported to him, “Lord, even the demons obey us when we use your name!”
18 “Yes,” he told them, “I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning! 19 Look, I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy, and you can walk among snakes and scorpions and crush them. Nothing will injure you. 20 But don’t rejoice because evil spirits obey you; rejoice because your names are registered in heaven.”
21 At that same time Jesus was filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit, and he said, “O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and for revealing them to the childlike. Yes, Father, it pleased you to do it this way.
22 “My Father has entrusted everything to me. No one truly knows the Son except the Father, and no one truly knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”
23 Then when they were alone, he turned to the disciples and said, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you have seen. 24 I tell you, many prophets and kings longed to see what you see, but they didn’t see it. And they longed to hear what you hear, but they didn’t hear it.”
25 One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: “Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 Jesus replied, “What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?”
27 The man answered, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
28 “Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!”
