Love Your Neighbor

“…if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave properly as in the day…” (Romans 13:9b-14a)

Paul write this after summarizing the Ten Commandments and what they boil down to for a New Testament believer:

Love your neighbor as yourself.

Our motivation is not only because we should seek the approval of our Father, but also to realize that “the night is almost gone and the day is near.” We should strive to have a right heart attitude – developing love as our first response to others creates in us an attitude that is contagious to all around us.

Think of how the world would look if everyone treated others we interacted with as we would want to be treated, thinking of the other person first and above themselves! If our response was natural and not dependent on how they treated us. There is no “unless” at the end of that verse. Love is not dependent on the actions of others.

Paul is reminding us that the days are growing short. We don’t know how long God will tarry but we know that every day brings us closer to the close of the church age and the Lord’s return.