Love Your Neighbor as Yourself

Love Your Neighbor as Yourself

It is written, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” This is one of the two commandments on which the law and the prophets are based. Matt. 22:39-40. This commandment of the law must also be fulfilled by those who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. Rom. 8:4. Here it is written about loving yourself. Shall we love ourselves? Yes, we shall love ourselves unto salvation, unto sanctification, unto all growth and progress in Christ Jesus. The fact that we love ourselves is demonstrably obvious. We pray: God, save me! And further: Bless me, bless me; let me receive, lead me on! This goes to show that we sincerely love ourselves. (It is something else again to hate your life in this world—your self-life.) Now we shall love our neighbor as ourselves. Then our desire on behalf of the others will be just as great as our care for ourselves. Then we will say, “Bless my brother, bless my sister; let this one receive this, and let that one advance on Your ways; fill these people with grace and strength.” Then it will be just as urgent that the others receive as it is for you to receive.

Jesus says further, “Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them . . . .” Matt. 7:12. This is also a word that is to be fulfilled in those who walk according to the Spirit. It is essentially the same word as the one previously mentioned, although it is worded differently. Follow this word as well, and you will see that you will reap blessings. People so often say, “Pray for me!” However, whatever you want people to do to you, you must do to them. Therefore go in before God’s face and pray for the person that you want to pray for you; persevere in prayer for him as you would want him to persevere in prayer on your behalf, praying just as often for him as you would want him to pray for you. Then you will doubtless experience the blessing of being obedient to this word. Are you now willing to ask others to pray for you, or didn’t you really mean anything by it? However, if you feel a need for intercession and if you are poor, then this is how you can convert your poverty into riches for the person you turned to, just as much as for yourself. Behold, this is the blessing: to give!