LEVITICUS 19:18&34 - LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR EVEN IF A STRANGER

LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR

EVEN IF A STRANGER

LEVITICUS 19:18 & 34

Thou shalt not avenge,

nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people,

but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself:

I am the Lord.

But the stranger that dwelleth with you

shall be unto you as one born among you,

and thou shalt love him as thyself;

for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt:

I am the Lord your God.

God, without question, wants us to emulate His pattern of unconditional love. To “love your neighbor as yourself” would indicate to sow love everywhere but particularly to those you come into contact with daily, within your sphere of influence. Then He goes even further by stating the Israelites should love the stranger—the resident alien—living in their cities. God’s reasoning is that they were once the strangers living in a foreign land, enslaved in Egypt, so they should have empathy for the plight of someone living in a foreign land.

When the hunt for Osama Bin Laden was raging, the Lord impressed upon me to pray for his children which I at first took to mean his biological children, but now realize could apply to his philosophical children—radical Muslims—as well. My reaction to that was, “Come again, Lord? You want me to do what?” However, I obeyed this word from God. Then I found myself also praying that the hunted Osama Bin Laden would have an experience with Jesus that he could not explain away leading him to become radically saved. As far as I know the Lord answered no to that specific prayer, but I still pray for those of the Muslim faith to experience the grace of God and trust Jesus as their savior.

Is there someone to whom you need to demonstrate God’s love today?