By this we know what love is: He laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.
This is the true test of love: can we lay down our lives for our brothers? You might ask: What does it mean to “lay down our lives?” Messiah said it in plain terms: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” He gave a clear example in Luke 10 about a man who was traveling from Yarushalayim to Yericho. He was robbed, stripped, beaten, and left for dead. Pious men passed by, including a priest and a Levite, and they looked the other way; but this stranger from Samaria responded with brotherly love. He rescued the man and ensured that he was well taken care of while he healed. This stranger did unto the wounded man just as he would have liked to be done for him, had the same evil befallen him.
There is an old saying that comes from the Scripture (Luke 6:31): “Do to others as you would have them do to you…” We call this the Royal Rule. This chapter talks, furthermore, about loving your enemies: those who hate you.
“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them and lend to them, expecting nothing in return. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” (Luke 6:32-36)
🕊 Shalum aleichem! (Peace be unto you!)
