In this daily Bible reading the Pharisees asked Jesus, “Which is the great commandment in the law.” Jesus responded: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” Jesus said that this is the foremost commandment. The second is like it. “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” All commandments are summed up in these two.
The Bible says that loving God means to obey God. Evidence of our love of God is living according to the Word of God. It is not evidenced by waving your hands over your head during a church service. We validate our love for God by our lives and by our choices. We also validate our love by our activities.
So, it is with loving our neighbors. We validate our love by our choices and actions toward our neighbors. Who are our neighbors? They are the people that God has placed in our lives. For example, they are people in our neighborhoods. They are people in our workplace. They are friends and acquaintances. The Bible says that we are to view other people as more important than ourselves. Therefore, we should place the needs of others ahead of our own. This is not a natural tendency. It is rather a conscious choice. It is not an easy choice. However, it is the right choice.