love your neighbor – Somerset Church of Christ

March 20, 2025

Walking as peacemakers

scrabble tiles forming the message stop war

God told Isaiah that it would come to pass in later days that a mountain of the house of the Lord would be established in the highest mountains. He was referring to Jerusalem, also known as Zion. “For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem” (Isaiah 2:3). Zion was a stronghold that David conquered and became the site of the Temple. More importantly, all nations would flow to the mountain of God and peace would reign forth from it.

“He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes from many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore” (vs. 4). When Christ came, he told his disciples to lay down their swords and to be peacemakers. True peace can only be found in Christ. We are called, not to have peace, but to be peacemakers. There is intentionality behind that word.

Peacemakers are expected to contribute to the holistic wellbeing of their community. This encompases peace negotiations, reconciliation, and pursuing what makes life better for others, including justice and mercy. Jesus is the beacon of peace coming from Jerusalem. Only through him can there be peace among the people of all nations. As peacemakers, we pursue the things that bring about peace, uniting one another through Christ our savior.

January 29, 2025

Walking in Love

Jesus famously said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 22:37-40 ESV). When Jesus said to love your neighbors as yourself, he was quoting from Leviticus 19:18. In order to fully understand what Jesus was saying about loving your neighbor, we need to understand the background for the text in Leviticus.

The Israelites were transitioning from a nomadic life to an agragarian life where they were producing abundant wealth. Think of people who win the lottery and go from poverty to wealth overnight. Most people pursue greed and lose everything. There is a real risk when we combine wealth with greed. It can cause complacency and even oppression. God gave a list of rules for treating their neighbors with fairness, including paying wages to workers on time and leaving grain on the edge of the fields for poor people and sojourners.

Loving your neighbor as yourself is known as “the Golden Rule.” When we love God above all else and love our neighbors by serving them and caring for the needy, the rest of the Law and Prophets will not be a burden. Loving your neighbor should not be a huge burden. If it is, we should check our heart to see what is hindering us from treating people the way that we would expect to be treated.

October 4, 2023

The Golden Rule

There is one sentence that Jesus uttered that summed up what is the Law and the Prophets: “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 7:12 ESV). This is what’s known as the Golden Rule.

It really is Golden and if people really understood this and lived it the world would be a very peaceful place. Almost everyone desires compassion, nurturing, kindness, and mercy. We all have essential needs in order to survive too–water, food, clothing, and shelter. But so many people lack those basic needs and desires. Imagine a world where any of these were stripped away from us. Remove compassion for a moment and pretend that everyone who you ever came into contact with was ruthless and cruel. We would be in a mental state of fatigue and misery after only a few hours.

The same can be true of any one of these. Take away food and we starve. Take away water and we dehydrate and die. Remove shelter and we freeze or burn up. Yet people are living without these things every day all over the world. If we grasp the Golden Rule–to treat others the way we want to be treated–we become driven to help them. It’s literally as simple as that. Jesus didn’t give a sermon on this. He gave a sentence.

February 9, 2023

Count Others More Significant than Yourselves

Our family has a hard and fast rule when we visit anywhere, whether it’s a restaurant, hotel, or are a guest somewhere. Our rule is to always leave a place better than you found it. This is a rule that we never break. As parents, it’s great to watch our kids pick up trash, tidy things up, and wipe things down. We taught them not to refuse to clean up other people’s messes. Even if the mess is not ours, we still clean up and leave the place better than we found it.

But a more important principle that we need to teach is to always leave a person better than what we found them. There may be some things in their life that is out of sorts. They may be struggling with something or are just having a terrible day. We may not be able to fix their problems, but are we leaving them in better shape than when we found them?

Romans 12:10 (ESV) says, “Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.” Philippians 2:3 says, “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.” In other words, leave people in better shape than you found them. Doing this takes a tremendous amount of self-control. We have to be intentional about it. We have to stay positive. When we build others up, we are built up too.

February 1, 2023

Love Your Neighbor as Yourself

The book of Leviticus talks a lot about the holiness of God. God is holy (set apart), therefore we are holy. Holiness means that God’s people are distinguished from the world. Where the world perpetuates violence, injustices, and hatred, God’s people are to show compassion, justice, and love. God does not permit his people to take vengeance.

There are very specific commandments for how to treat one’s neighbor. “You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord” (Leviticus 19:18 ESV). This commandment is what Jesus referred to as “the second greatest commandment,” behind loving the Lord your God. In fact, these two commandments were so strong that Jesus said all of the law and the prophets hinge on these two commandments.

Over the next few weeks we will specifically talk about what it means to love ourselves. There are plenty of references in the Bible yet Christians don’t seem to take this charge to love ourselves as seriously as they should. Love is not perfect if we don’t love ourselves.

September 8, 2020

Struggling for Others

Paul wrote to the church in Colosse, “For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love” (Colossians 2:1, 2 ESV). There is something special about being together with people, face to face. Paul recognized this multiple times to multiple Christians. He often longed to be with people in person, and that was a two way street. When the Ephesian elders met Paul at Miletus, “there was much weeping on the part of all; they embraced Paul and kissed him, being sorrowful most of all because of the word he had spoken, that they would not see his face again” (Acts 20:37, 38).

These encounters went well beyond just a surface-level friendship. To be sure, Paul wanted the church at Colosse to know how great a struggle he had for them and those at Laodicea. Paul labored for the people he knew. He struggled for them. Paul made it clear that he did not want to “rob” the Christians he served. He was a tent maker. He did not ask for money, because he felt that would hinder his ministry. Consumerism was not of any interest to Paul struggled, and gladly so, for the sake of his fellow man.

It does Christians well to work hard–even to struggle–for the sake of others. It communicates that our relationship is not shallow and that the other person is worth struggling for. But most importantly, Paul emphasized that, “though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ” (Colossians 2:5). We struggle for others to ensure the firmness of their faith. This is (and should always) be motivated by our love of God and love for others.

Photo by DJ Johnson on Unsplash

June 2, 2020

The Golden Rule

Jesus, in one sentence, summed up the Law and the Prophets: “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 7:12 ESV). That’s it. This is known as the “golden rule” of the Bible. But what exactly does this mean?

Were it not for the Law and the Prophets, it would be very easy to misconstrue this rule, which is what many people do. “This is the Law and the Prophets.” It’s not like the Law and the Prophets. It’s not based on the Law and the Prophets. It’s not abstractly linked to the Law and the Prophets. It is the Law and the Prophets!

The Old Testament tells us how to care for our neighbors. It’s not some profound mystery. Truth is not something we need to go on a treasure hunt for. We don’t have to go searching for ways to be compassionate to others. The Law and the Prophets are the plumb line that keep our souls in check. If people are threatening the safety of our neighbors, put yourself in the shoes of that neighbor. If people are hungry and begging in the street, put yourself in the shoes of the hungry person. If someone is experiencing abuse, put yourselves into the shoes of the abused. Ask, what would I need from my neighbor in this time of desperation?

If we can answer that question truthfully, we are close to the heart of God. The world can use people who adhere to the Golden Rule, and we have the freedom to be those people!

Photo byÂ Ashley WhitlatchÂ onÂ Unsplash