Devotional: Love Yourself and Love Your Neighbor

Love Yourself and Love Your Neighbor

Table Talk: Jesus told us to care for our neighbors like we care for ourselves.
Read Mark 12:28-31

Learning activities for children: https://ministry-to-children.com/love-your-neighbor-sunday-school-lesson/

28 And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” 29 Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

Say: Jesus knew the Old Testament incredibly well. When He was asked to summarize the commandments, Jesus turned to “love God supremely” and “love your neighbor as yourself.”

Ask: What are the ways you care for yourself?
What would happen if you did not care for ourselves in the ways you mentioned in the previous question?

Say: As Christians, we are called to care for a neighbor the way we care for ourselves. We clothe those who need clothing. We feed those who are hungry. We care for those who are sick. We encourage those who are fearful. We provide the same type of care for our neighbors that we instinctively provide for ourselves. We "love our neighbors as ourselves." And who is your neighbor? Well, Jesus’ teaching would cause us to ask a different question: “Who is not my neighbor?”

Pray: Lord, give us as a family the heart to see everyone as our neighbor. Help us especially to be a Christian neighbor to those who live nearest to us. Lord, in these uncertain times, let the light of Christ shine through each of us.

Ministry activity for the week: Be a great Christian neighbor
The link below is The Art of Neighboring Toolkit with specific applications for the COVID 19 season. It contains incredible ideas to minister to your neighbors. Please read and create a ministry plan for your family.

http://s3.amazonaws.com/static.rightnow/Resources/Media/PDF/The_Art_of_Neighboring_6142.PDF