Loving your Neighbor
Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?" Jesus said to him, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."(Matthew 22:35-40 NKJV)
Preface
Let me start out by saying that we are getting mixed messages regarding mitigating this corona virus. I don’t know whom to believe. It is not that way with my relationship with the Lord. I do believe the Lord Jesus and I am trusting what He says. I believe the Bible records what He says, and that the Bible is trustworthy. I believe that trusting in the blood (death) of the Lord Jesus saves for eternity. I believe that there is a heaven to gain and a place called hell to shun. I also believe that we are to love our neighbors AS WE LOVE OURSELVES. These are basic Biblical principles.
Current Events
As I write this we are in the middle of social isolation because of the pandemic in our country and in the world. I am seeing quite a few Facebook posts dealing with the fact that the State and Federal Governments have violated our rights as citizens to freely assemble and to freely worship. There is concern that we are losing the rights promised us by our constitution and by our bill of rights. Is this happening? The answer is yes! Should this be happening? That answer is not so clear!
Most of the arguments I see Christians posting are based on politics and US law. However, as Christians we should be appealing to the guidelines of the Bible. When we analyze what we should do, the political answer is all about “me” and “my rights.” The spiritual answer, however, is all about “loving our neighbors” which may require us to give up our rights, at least for a while.
Giving Up Our Rights
The Lord had the right to call twelve legions of angels when He was in the Garden of Gethsemane (see Matthew 26:53). He had the ability to destroy all His enemies, but He didn’t do it. He came to save and not to destroy when He came the first time. In a coming day, however, He will come with an army to destroy His enemies (See Revelation 19).
Paul reminds us of his rights in 1 Corinthians 9. He had the right to take along a believing wife which he did not do. He had the right to refrain from working and to be supported by those who were benefiting from his ministry. But he did not take advantage of that right. One of our rights as Christians is to NOT take advantage of the rights that we have. We often must do that in order to be a blessing to the unsaved and often we must do that to be a blessing to other Christians. If we are going to love our neighbors, we must humble ourselves as the Lord did when He became obedient unto the cross death as recorded in Philippians 2. Humbling ourselves does not mean that we think less of ourselves, it means that we think of ourselves less. We are not self-centered.
I know that science (which is often wrong) does not have a handle on this disease. While we don’t always know whom to believe, I for one am going to believe the infectious disease specialists until such time as they are proven wrong. I for one do not want to get covid-19 from someone who did not take social isolation seriously. I do not want to be responsible for giving this virus to someone even though I feel perfectly fine. I am told I could still be a carrier and give it to others. I don’t know. All I know is that staying home when it is possible only makes sense to me and I am doing it out of “love for my neighbor.”
Conclusion
I think “loving my neighbor” right now means that I am willing to give up my right to freely assemble. We are not giving up that right because of an autocratic despot, but because we love our neighbors. I think loving my neighbor means that I do my best to be the best representation of Christ that I can be so that unbelievers will ask me a reason of the hope that is in me (1 Peter 3:15). I am praying that this pandemic will be the means of seeing many in heaven that would not otherwise be there.
Bruce Collins
Meditation for the week of April 5, 2020