Love Your Neighbour


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Your financial gift to CBN Africa will be used to bring the Kingdom of God and the gospel of Jesus to people all over Africa in all sorts of innovative and practical ways.

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CBN Africa Prayerline is a ministry committed to believing with others for financial breakthrough, restoration in relationships and seeing the Kingdom come in the lives of people from all over Africa.

God’s nature is to love us

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law?” Jesus replies, “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’” This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments,” (Matthew 22:36)

The very nature of God is love (1 John 4:16), and Jesus is the full embodiment of God’s love for us. His heart is to give us a life we couldn’t give ourselves. We didn’t have to earn it and we never deserved the saving grace God lavishes on us. His love for us is unconditional and inexhaustible. This love of God for us, should give us more of a desire to love our neighbour.

With these amazing truths in mind, imagine what it must have been like to ask Jesus a question like the one in the Scripture above! After His response, I know I would want to ask Him a follow-up question like, “But Lord, how do I do this in my everyday life?” I am sure His answer would be something like we read in John 15 where He calls people to abide in Him. He is our saviour but he is also our hero and our example. The more we get to know who Jesus really is, the more our love can resemble His.

The second greatest commandment

But even with His great example, loving our neighbour is not often too easy. But it is one way we can learn to put our faith in practice. Do you find that there are times when you try so hard to get along with someone, but it just seems to be so difficult? God knew you’d feel this way! That’s why he chose to love you first. And as you receive and then respond to that love you will find that loving others (even in those tough cases) begins to flow a lot more naturally. Loving your neighbour comes most powerfully from an overflow of first receiving the love of God through Jesus Christ. Let’s be people who seek God with all of our heart, soul and mind, in all situations so that His life-changing love can spill out from us to our desperate-for-love world.

Ask for God’s help

The best way to abide in Christ as Jesus calls us to, is to ask for His help. Why don’t you take a few minutes to pray the prayer below. As you do, allow God to reveal His love towards you and also for our country.

Lord Jesus, thank you for your relentless and unconditional love for me.  I know that I am only one person, but please help me to love those around me. You know what’s happening in South Africa at this time. And you know that the way to solve the problem is for us to love. Teach me to love others as you have loved me. Amen.

For more information about how to partner with the mission of CBN Africa. To make Christ’s love known across Southern and Eastern Africa, please email us at info@cbnsa.org. Or if you would like us to pray with you please call our prayerline at (021) 701 1776, or send an email to prayer@cbnsa.org. We’d love to hear from you!

 


Devotionals, Home, South Africa

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Kate Rothon