Part two

Yesterday’s email did not go out – you can read Part one of this Victory Call on www.americaskeswick.org/VictoryCall

Matthew 22:37-39 Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’  This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'” (NKJV)

Loving your neighbor as yourself is easy when you have a really nice neighbor.  The going gets hard when you have a neighbor that is distant, strange or absolutely unkind.  The hardest in my mind is when a neighbor, who is a brother or sister in Christ, is not there for you in your time of need. 

That is exactly what happened when Jesus disappointed Mary and Martha (see John 11:17-45).  They had called for Him to come.  Their brother was VERY ill yet Jesus did not come right away.  Lazarus, their brother, died and was buried.  These dear friends of Jesus must have been upset yet when He arrived Martha went out to meet Him.  When Mary came to Jesus she fell at his feet reflecting the intense grief that she and her sister Martha shared.  They did not sound bitter or angry.  They were likely confused but they still put their trust in Him.  Jesus said, “Where have you laid Him?”  You know the story; Jesus called Lazarus from the grave.  He glorified His Father in heaven; He was obedient to the guiding of Holy Spirit.

It may just be that the brother or sister who was not there for you was just being obedient to something you were not aware of.  Perhaps they did not recognize your need.  Regardless, loving a neighbor also means to love them even when they hurt your feelings or disappoint you.  Guard your heart, dear one.  Do not let bitterness take root. 
It is interesting that God tells us to love our neighbor as ourselves.  Who among us can’t come up with a good excuse when we do something wrong, yet we can’t seem to find any reason for someone to hurt us.  Guess when you really love someone you simply don’t look for flaws, perhaps you have eyes to see only the good.

It seems to me that when Jesus gave us the two great commandments He did so from a heart filled with love for you and me.  He simply knew that if we would follow these two greatest of all the commandments His heavenly Father would bless us and the generations that follow us. 

So girls…….Let’s choose this day to love……to love our Wonderful, Creator, Counselor, Prince of Peace, our God.  Let’s love Him with our whole heart, soul and mind.  Let’s love our neighbors at least as much as we love ourselves.

Patricia L. Wenzel
WOC Graduate