Loving Our NeighborsSample

Every Neighbor Matters 

We’re all created in God’s image. Take a second to think about how truly incredible that is. God stamped His goodness on each of us by design, and we get to project and reflect that goodness to people around us. And that means everyone we encounter is also reflecting God’s goodness back to us because they’re made in His image, too. 

Because we’re all image bearers of God, every person we meet has inherent worth and dignity. So it only makes sense that we get to know God better by knowing, loving, and serving one another. 

Every person has equal value in God’s eyes, but when we look at the world around us, there are inequalities everywhere. We see these inequalities at work in our health, in our families, in our education systems, and in countless other places in our communities. So how do we reconcile that tension? 

Unfortunately, we live in a broken, fallen world. But the good news is that Jesus invites us to partner with Him in restoring it. From the beginning, we see that God’s plan was for humans to rule over creation, but we messed it up over and over again. 

Despite our failures, God was faithful. He never gave up on us, and He sent us Jesus to accomplish what we could never do on our own. So through Jesus, we not only have the opportunity to experience freedom from sin but also we receive an invitation to get our jobs back—to bring more of God’s Kingdom here on earth. 

It can seem like a daunting and intimidating job to partner with God and others to reflect His character to the world around us, but Jesus makes it simple in Matthew 22 when He gives us two commands:

... “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ … And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” Matthew 22:37-39 NIV

Our two greatest commandments are to love God and to love our neighbors as ourselves. And in order to fulfill the first commandment, we need to focus on the second commandment. Why? Because nothing brings more honor to the Father than loving His kids.

So where do start? How do we actually love and neighbor well? The good news is that our actions don’t have to be monumental to matter. 

Start today. Ask God to give you eyes to really see the people around you. Maybe it’s getting to know a neighbor. Maybe it’s sending an encouraging text to a friend. Whatever it is, take one small step to show more of God’s love to others today. 

Remember: You don’t have to do something incredible to do something important. Over the next few days, we’ll talk about a few key ways we can love our neighbors. Although there are millions of ways to love them, we’ll specifically focus on the areas of well-being, families, education, justice, and community empowerment. 

Pray: God, thank You for making me in Your image. I want to walk in the confidence that You are my Creator. Help me share this truth with those around me. Show me where I can start loving my neighbors well today. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Challenge: Think of a way that you can love people around you today. Then, go do it! 

You’ll love the podcast season that goes with this Bible Plan. Find accompanying episodes on the You’ve Heard It Said podcast, available anywhere you like to listen to podcasts. Learn more about the podcast here.