How to love your neighbor

Guest Blog Post: Tessa French, Creative Coordinator

When we think of the verse in Mark 12:31, we often remember “love thy neighbor as yourself”. To truly understand the importance of Mark 12:31 though, we have to go back to the verse before, Mark 12:30:  “And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind and all your strength.”

I think most of us as Christ followers will easily say that loving God is the crux of being a believer. But if we continue reading to Mark 12:31, Jesus says  the second is equally important: “Love your neighbor as yourself. No other commandment is greater than these.”

Part of loving God is loving the people He created. 

So, what does loving your neighbor look like? 

It looks like meeting people right where they’re at with the unconditional love that God shows us. 1 Corinthians 13:4-5 tells us best what love is: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.” 

There are many ways to love your neighbor, here are a few tangible ideas: 

1. Bring a friend coffee when they’re having a bad day

2. Grab an extra hot meal and give it to someone in need

3. Be intentional about listening in conversations

4. Volunteer with your favorite nonprofit

5. Pray for others

Loving your neighbor looks like meeting people where they’re at, sitting with people in their pain, laying your life down for others with no expectation of it being reciprocated. I think Charles Spurgeon says it best “Love thy neighbour, for in so doing thou art following the footsteps of Christ.” Loving your neighbor doesn’t just change other’s lives, it molds and shapes us into a more Christlike human. 

If we truly love our neighbor, I believe we’ll see a world changed and hurting people come to know Jesus.