Regional Synod of Canada - Reformed Church in America

Pioneer Christian Monthly

Date - June 1/55

Contributor - J. Dykstra

Title - And Thy Neighbour As Thyself

Topic - Meditation

All of Christian behaviour that is to be God-pleasing must be governed by sincere and profound love. In one broad sweep Jesus has summarized all the myriads of Old Testament law. Love God! Love your neighbour! In fact, the whole Christian faith stands and falls with love. It is based upon God's redeeming Love which rescues the sinner from certain destruction and makes him instead, a child of God. But the importance of love does not end there. Perhaps it only begins there. Love continues to be important, for love is the expression of a new life in the Christian. Love must govern every act. The Christian must love God above all and his neighbour as himself.

"And who is my neighbour?" asked the lawyer long ago. How broad is our responsibility to love? Whom should we love and how much? Thereupon followed the never-to-be-forgotten parable of the Good Samaritan. Who should we love? Certainly, it is definite that we should first love those of "the household of faith" - our fellow Christians. But how about the Christian who doesn't believe just as I do? We can't agree with each other, so we will agree to hate each other. Ought suspicion to be in the church? Should we be divided into many petty little camps, one of Paul and one of Apollos? Ought not every congregation be solidly welded together by an unbreakable bond of love? So our Saviour wills it, that we be one. Even when others give us cause to be offended, we should be willing to forgive and love. Another's attitude gives us no excuse to be unlovely.

So should also our attitude to other church denominations be one of love, not distrust and disdain and suspicion and hate. We should not take our place as competing business in the same town, each out to get the other's customers by underhanded means. On the other hand, neither should we come so easy going that it makes no difference to us what church we attend or who attends our church, whether our church grows our wanes. We must be governed by love, a zealous love that enables us both to build our own church and to love and respect other churches, a love that enables us to join hands with them who don't agree with us and work and love together for the upbuilding of Christ's Church. Who knows but that we may be able to learn something from him who disagrees with us!

Love your neighbour! That includes more than your brother, too. That includes those who hate God and mock Him, and the church. . . . and you. That means those who are cold and indifferent. That means those many children you see every day who hear God's name only as it is misused. That means the thousands of heathens still bowing before wood and stone because the glad news of salvation has never reached their ears. Love your neighbour. Love every human soul under the sun.

I Oh but that isn't naturally within us. It is equally difficult to love God or our neighbour. We humankind do not find it easy to love. Rather are we inclined to greed, selfishness, and hate. Homes, friendships, Christian nations, even congregations of the church, and churches among each other, are often rent by strife. The onlooker may well be led to question how much we really know of love. We are interested in God's love for us, but we seem so soon to have forgotten Jesus' command that we love one another. But he who has one hand in God's hand cannot fight with the other. And right there lies the source of the ability to love - in God. God is love and Christians who are filled with God are filled with love. To love one another, we must have God in our hearts. We must crown Him King of our lives, Ruler of our deeds, and ask Him to fill us with His love. So, we may love our neighbour as ourselves.

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