How do I love my neighbour?
by Pastor Glenn Crouch
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Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy (Leviticus 19:2b).
We start off with the reminder that we are to be holy for one and only one reason: because God is holy. As the people of Israel were God’s people, so we are his children through the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus. Children are supposed to take after their parents, so we should take after our Heavenly Father.
Now the next question might be, ‘How do we be holy?’ Well, the passage continues with looking at how we should act towards those around us – summing this up in verse 18: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself. I am the Lord.’
We seem to forget that God does not need anything from us. He is God! Martin Luther argued that God doesn’t need our good works – our neighbour does. Following these rules that we’ve read today doesn’t get us into heaven, nor does it somehow put God in our debt. These rules, and how poorly we follow them, show us how far from being holy we are, how we have all sinned and fallen short (Romans 3:23). It is we who owe God everything, and he wants us to love our neighbour.
Almighty God, you are indeed most Holy! Wash me so that I am white as snow. Cleanse me of my sin. Thank you that through your dear Son, I am forgiven. Help me today and every day to see and take hold of the opportunities you give, to show forth your love to those around me. Only with your Spirit can I do this. Amen.
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