Our paragraph topic is: (The rich young man speaks to Jesus) Part 10.
And now Christ tells the young man to do something that he has not heard before. He gives him a commandment that is the foundation of all the commandments. And Jesus said, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."
Love thy neighbor! Who was the neighbor of the young man? Who was he to love, as he loved himself? He had sought Christ because he knew that he was a man of truth. He believed him. He believed in the words he spoke. He had come a long way to find the truth, to find what he needed to do to obtain the kingdom. He wanted to make sure that he had the right information that he could follow. He did not steal. He did not kill anyone. He did not commit adultery. He sought not to bear false witness against anyone, least of all to be false to himself. And he honored his mother and father, for he was a dutiful son. And here he was seeking knowledge from Christ as to what else he should do to complete his journey into the kingdom.
Love thy neighbor as thyself. This was the last commandment that Christ gave the rich young man who sought to know what he must do. The rich young man loved himself but how was he to love others as himself? How was he to treat others as he treated himself? How was he to love those who hated him, those who sought to do harm to him? How would he love the poor, the less fortunate, the laborers, the sick, those imprisoned, those that were Gentile and not Jews? How was he to do this? This was a hard thing to think of doing since it meant seeing others in a different light.
Christ calls upon all who read or hear these words to love. He calls upon us to see others as though we were seeing ourselves. Despite the race, despite the creed, the religion, despite the crime, the wealth or the poverty, we are to see everyone as we see ourselves. This is the message that Christ spoke of so that we would all hear. These are the words that he left for every human being. But how can we know, how can we overcome, how can we practice love with all the evil, all the hatred, the envy, the jealousy, all the other barriers that prevents us from doing so?
The barriers in the world are there to stop us from being who we are. The barriers in the world are there to blind us from seeing who we are. The barriers in the world are there to prevent us from loving one another as we should. For we are all children of the Father. We are created in his image and likeness. We are spiritual and not physical. And it is that spiritual being that we are, inside, that we should see. It is that likeness within that we should know. It is that love from above that we should feel within, that will allow us to be who we are in ourselves and in others.
Christ came that we would know ourselves. He demonstrated his passion for mankind that we would see the love that the Father has for us. He gave his life that we would have new life, in him, for eternity. And he loves with the love of the Father for each and every one of us, no matter what the barriers. For we are not black, or white, or Hispanic, or Jews, or criminals, or the poor, or democrat or republican or any other barrier that is placed upon us. But we are spiritual beings created in the likeness of God our Father. And in this likeness we are the light of the world.
Within the physical, through the darkness, inside the spiritual eye, lies the truth of who we are. The world seeks to deny our nature. The evil wants to blind our sight. And the darkness wants to cover the light of Christ that is within us. Yet each and everyone of us has that same light, that same nature, that same likeness; if we could only see it. For within, lies the joy, the happiness, and the peace that comes with the knowledge and the wisdom of life in Christ. And the knowledge and wisdom of Christ opens our minds, our eyes, and our hearts to the true vision to see our neighbors as we truly see ourselves. And the vision of ourselves and others will overwhelm us with the love that is from Christ.
Read the sign of the times! Read the Highlighted New Testament Bible and lift the scales from your eyes that you may see, that you may know, that you may find the truth of who you are in Christ. Read it as though you would read a good book, from cover to cover, and see for yourself. Do not study it in parts reading one passage and then skipping to another, but read it for understanding. Read it for knowledge. Read it for faith. Read it that your eyes may be opened, that your ears may hear, that your heart may be filled with the light of Christ. The Holy Spirit awaits you. Christ seeks to know you. Open the door and let him in.
And now Christ tells the young man to do something that he has not heard before. He gives him a commandment that is the foundation of all the commandments. And Jesus said, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."
Love thy neighbor! Who was the neighbor of the young man? Who was he to love, as he loved himself? He had sought Christ because he knew that he was a man of truth. He believed him. He believed in the words he spoke. He had come a long way to find the truth, to find what he needed to do to obtain the kingdom. He wanted to make sure that he had the right information that he could follow. He did not steal. He did not kill anyone. He did not commit adultery. He sought not to bear false witness against anyone, least of all to be false to himself. And he honored his mother and father, for he was a dutiful son. And here he was seeking knowledge from Christ as to what else he should do to complete his journey into the kingdom.
Love thy neighbor as thyself. This was the last commandment that Christ gave the rich young man who sought to know what he must do. The rich young man loved himself but how was he to love others as himself? How was he to treat others as he treated himself? How was he to love those who hated him, those who sought to do harm to him? How would he love the poor, the less fortunate, the laborers, the sick, those imprisoned, those that were Gentile and not Jews? How was he to do this? This was a hard thing to think of doing since it meant seeing others in a different light.
Christ calls upon all who read or hear these words to love. He calls upon us to see others as though we were seeing ourselves. Despite the race, despite the creed, the religion, despite the crime, the wealth or the poverty, we are to see everyone as we see ourselves. This is the message that Christ spoke of so that we would all hear. These are the words that he left for every human being. But how can we know, how can we overcome, how can we practice love with all the evil, all the hatred, the envy, the jealousy, all the other barriers that prevents us from doing so?
The barriers in the world are there to stop us from being who we are. The barriers in the world are there to blind us from seeing who we are. The barriers in the world are there to prevent us from loving one another as we should. For we are all children of the Father. We are created in his image and likeness. We are spiritual and not physical. And it is that spiritual being that we are, inside, that we should see. It is that likeness within that we should know. It is that love from above that we should feel within, that will allow us to be who we are in ourselves and in others.
Christ came that we would know ourselves. He demonstrated his passion for mankind that we would see the love that the Father has for us. He gave his life that we would have new life, in him, for eternity. And he loves with the love of the Father for each and every one of us, no matter what the barriers. For we are not black, or white, or Hispanic, or Jews, or criminals, or the poor, or democrat or republican or any other barrier that is placed upon us. But we are spiritual beings created in the likeness of God our Father. And in this likeness we are the light of the world.
Within the physical, through the darkness, inside the spiritual eye, lies the truth of who we are. The world seeks to deny our nature. The evil wants to blind our sight. And the darkness wants to cover the light of Christ that is within us. Yet each and everyone of us has that same light, that same nature, that same likeness; if we could only see it. For within, lies the joy, the happiness, and the peace that comes with the knowledge and the wisdom of life in Christ. And the knowledge and wisdom of Christ opens our minds, our eyes, and our hearts to the true vision to see our neighbors as we truly see ourselves. And the vision of ourselves and others will overwhelm us with the love that is from Christ.
Read the sign of the times! Read the Highlighted New Testament Bible and lift the scales from your eyes that you may see, that you may know, that you may find the truth of who you are in Christ. Read it as though you would read a good book, from cover to cover, and see for yourself. Do not study it in parts reading one passage and then skipping to another, but read it for understanding. Read it for knowledge. Read it for faith. Read it that your eyes may be opened, that your ears may hear, that your heart may be filled with the light of Christ. The Holy Spirit awaits you. Christ seeks to know you. Open the door and let him in.
