December 28
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LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF
13 For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but serve one another through love. 14 For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” 15 But if you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another. – Galatians 5:13-15
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In this letter to the Galatians, Paul reminds them of the danger of losing the freedom that Christ has already granted those who believed in Him. He stresses the importance of not abusing or using the freedom we were given for our exclusive use. It is for selfish reasons that the world wants us to use it for; but that isn’t the purpose of the freedom that Christ gave us.
In Matthew 22:36-40 it says 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And He said to him, “‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ 38 This is the great and foremost commandment. 39 The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ 40 Upon these two commandments hang the whole Law and the Prophets.”
Paul echoes the same words said by Jesus in Matthew 22:36-40. The purpose of His death on the cross is for us to be able to get free from our selfish nature and love God first and foremost so we can love our neighbors in the same manner that we love ourselves. He cautions us in verse 15 in this letter that when you do things for purposes of devouring one another, we will be consumed by that conflict and desire to satisfy our own cravings.
In my experience, this command to love one another as ourselves is a very challenging command. It is hard to love others if we have no clue how to love ourselves, especially if we were never given true love. The world’s love is very different from God’s love. The world tells us to look after ourselves, but God’s love wants us to put Him above all things first and then love others as we love ourselves. If we have never received Christ, it is impossible to truly love ourselves just as God loves us. Our selfish nature will get in the way if we do not make God first. That is how God made the law. It is by loving Him first that we can only know how to love others and ourselves. So, if someone cannot love, that person probably do not know God because the bible says that God is love and it is only from Him that we can love ourselves and others as well, then we can have freedom.
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REFLECTION
• How is the concept of freedom corrupted by the world system?