Loving Your Neighbor
Jesus said that loving our neighbor was the second most important commandment. Many believe that loving our neighbor means to be kind and forgiving toward others. It occurred to me while browsing the invisible children site that Jesus meant a different kind of love.
The concept of love in the modern west is that love is a feeling, an emotion or an attitude. If that is the case, then kindness and forgiveness are an accurate interpretation, and I’m sure that they represent a part of the love in the scripture. However, I think that Jesus meant an active kind of love. A love that does for your neighbor what you would do for youself. For instance, of course you will use the paycheck you get from work to feed yourself and your family. But will you also make sure that another family is fed? You will see to it that you have shelter, but will you also shelter others? You want to preserve your rights and seek justice when you find yourself in precarious situations, but will you fight for justice in situations that have nothing to do with you? The love of neighbor that Jesus spoke of is the love of activism. It gives to those who don’t have and stands up for those who can’t. It is the type of love in which no one is in need as long as you have resources. Of course, you or I can’t save the world alone, but we can do our part. If everyone did just a little for their neighbor, what would our world be?