When Jesus gave the command to love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself (see Mark 12:29-31), He was quoting part of a verse directly from Leviticus 19:18, “You shall not take vengeance nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.”
Have you thought about what it looks like to love your neighbor as yourself? Yes, you can rightly say that we should “treat others the way we want to be treated”, that is what we call the Golden Rule. But that is vague. Realistically and practically, what does loving your neighbor look like? Leviticus 19 gives many good ideas of how to love both God and your fellow man. Here are just a few that I gleaned today:
- Honor God’s Sabbaths.
- Honor your parents.
- Worship God, not idols.
- Give to the poor.
- Be honest.
- Help the handicapped.
- Be fair.
- Be forgiving.
- Don’t gossip.
- Honor the elderly.
- Be kind to strangers.
There are many other ways in that chapter that I did not mention. Take a look for yourself at Leviticus 19. These practices may be “Old Testament” laws, given to God’s people, but I think they are still applicable for all of us today. When we love our neighbor as ourselves, that too is an act of worship to God. There is no commandment greater than these two—loving God and loving men. What are you doing to show love to your fellow man today? Be encouraged in all you are doing for God and others!