“‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord. Leviticus 19:18
“Love thy neighbor.” Perhaps he rolls in riches, and thou art poor, and living in thy little cot side-by-side with his lordly mansion; thou seest every day his estates, his fine linen, and his sumptuous banquets; God has given him these gifts, covet not his wealth, and think no hard thoughts concerning him. Be content with thine own lot, if thou canst not better it, but do not look upon thy neighbor, and wish that he were as thyself. Love him, and then thou wilt not envy him.
Perhaps, on the other hand, thou art rich, and near thee reside the poor. Do not scorn to call them neighbor. Own that thou art bound to love them. The world calls them thy inferiors. In what are they inferior? They are far more thine equals than thine inferiors, for “God hath made of one blood all people that dwell upon the face of the earth.” It is thy coat which is better than theirs, but thou art by no means better than they. They are men, and what art thou more than that? Take heed that thou love thy neighbor even though he be in rags, or sunken in the depths of poverty.
But, perhaps, you say, “I cannot love my neighbors, because for all I do they return ingratitude and contempt.” So much the more room for the heroism of love. Wouldst thou be a feather-bed warrior, instead of bearing the rough fight of love? He who dares the most, shall win the most; and if rough be thy path of love, tread it boldly, still loving thy neighbors through thick and thin. Heap coals of fire on their heads, and if they be hard to please, seek not to please them, but to please thy Master; and remember if they spurn thy love, thy Master hath not spurned it, and thy deed is as acceptable to him as if it had been acceptable to them. Love thy neighbor, for in so doing thou art following the footsteps of Christ.”
Charles Haddon Spurgeon in Morning and Evening: Daily Readings (Grand Rapids: CCEL) morning reading for 12 March.
Today’s post spells out what sometimes happens in relationships with our neighbors.
We see their nice things so we envy them. Or, we abound with material blessings while they do not and wrongly treat them as inferiors. Sometimes we reach out in love and they return it with ingratitude or contempt, so we give up the “rough fight of love” reasoning that at least we tried.
To remember to love our neighbor each and every day is about not responding to the situations of life in the flesh but following instead in the footsteps of Christ. To be generous is to give our neighbors not what they deserve but what everyone needs, which is what Christ gave us, love.
God’s design for our flourishing is to submit to His Lordship and follow His ways. That’s why today’s Scripture ends with “I am the Lord.” He knows that when His people treat each other with love, they show His goodness and generosity to a watching world. What will your life exhibit in 2021?
As Spurgeon concludes: “He who dares the most, shall win the most; and if rough be thy path of love, tread it boldly, still loving thy neighbors through thick and thin.” Remember to tread the path of love boldly. I dare you to dedicate yourself to generously dispensing love in 2021.
This is a good reminder for me today as I return to work and interacting with people.