Element No. 1: LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR (verse 43)

Love your neighbor as yourself (Leviticus 19:18) is the sun around which Commandment No. 6 revolves. It calls us to pursue, build and promote love-relationships with everyone, at all times, under all circumstances. 1 Corinthians 16:14 says, “Do everything in love.”

In baptism of fire we are likely to be hurt and angered—not once, but over and over again. The baptism is designed to test if we will fracture, wreck or sever our love-relationship with the neighbor who rubs us the wrong way. Keep your focus and come out of it triumphant.

¹¹ This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. ¹² Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. 1 JOHN 3

¹⁰ Love does no harm to its neighbor. ROMANS 13

¹⁷ [Love does] not repay evil with evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. ¹⁸ If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. ROMANS 12

¹⁰ Anyone who does not love his brother is not a child of God. 1 JOHN 3

²³ Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, ²⁴ leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift. MATTHEW 5

⁸ Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another. ROMANS 13

Better to forgive and forget the offence. And why not? Are we not offenders too? Is it not true that wrong programming affects our behavior too? Do we not say and do things that offend God and neighbor? Do we not hope for our offences to be forgiven and forgotten too? 

Forgiveness will unburden our hearts and the hearts of our offenders. It will free us from carrying around an unnecessary baggage. A heart full of forgiveness is a happy one. The lightness of spirit and good cheer can’t help but spill over onto those around us. <Linda Hersey, Be Swift to Forgive, Marriage is a Promise of Love (Colorado: Blue Mountain Press, 2005) p. 34>

⁷ Instead of getting upset over your neighbor’s faults, overlook them. SIRACH 28

²⁹ Do not say, “I’ll do to him as he has done to me. I’ll pay that man back for what he did.” PROVERBS 24

¹⁸ Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. LEVITICUS 19 

A sinner forgiven must have a forgiving heart, said John W. Ritenbaugh.

¹³ Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. ¹⁴ And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. COLOSSIANS 3

Let love prevail. He who sows love will reap love. No matter how often we offend God, does He not put in extra effort to save His love-relationship with us? 

⁸ Love is eternal. [It does not come to an end.] 1 CORINTHIANS 13 tev

⁵ I, the Lord Almighty, have not abandoned Isra’el and Judah, even though they have sinned against Me, the Holy One of Isra’el. JEREMIAH 51 tev  

³ O House of Isra’el, I have always loved you… I continue to show you My constant love. JEREMIAH 31 tev

¹⁰ My faithful love for you will remain. My covenant of blessing will never be broken, says the Lord, who has mercy on you. ISAIAH 54 nlt

⁵ The earth is full of His unfailing love. PSALM 33

God’s love shows us how to respond to wicked situations: Keep in stride with divine love, the only thing that is keeping us alive. If God stopped being gracious to us (if He stopped receiving the blows and retaliated instead against those who mistreat Him, those who irritate Him, those who fail Him, those who grieve Him) we would not be breathing today.

Responding with love and faithfulness will demand immense sacrifices (a tradeoff) on our part, but if we persevere and remain steadfast, we will have our reward (a payoff) from both God and men. The process is like putting up a skyscraper; it’s not easy. As we all know, skyscrapers do not sprout overnight. We have to plan our moves and accomplish them one step at a time. We start from the bottom, put up solid foundations, and inch our way up. But if we keep on loving and edifying, if we stay gracious and do not give up, even the worst troublemakers today would be transformed into sturdy, livable skyscrapers tomorrow.  

⁹ Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. GALATIANS 6