By Alexandra Robinson, Senior Pastor, Flower Mound United Methodist Church
February 14 was Valentine’s Day – a national holiday providing opportunity to express romantic love – through chocolate, flowers and Hallmark cards. But what if this February we enacted loving our neighbor? After all, loving thy neighbor is a universal religious expression.
Jesus tells us to love our neighbor as ourselves, (Mark 12:31, Matthew 22:37) when asked what the greatest commandment is of all the laws. This continues the tradition found in the Hebrew Scriptures in Leviticus 19:18, which states that we “shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge, but love your neighbor as yourself.”
Each religion has this universal truth: caring for one’s neighbor is an expression of holiness.
In a world where we desperately need to find what unites us rather than what divides us, February is the perfect time to invite a neighbor for dinner, write a card of gratitude, or even deliver some homemade goodies. Expressing love can be simple acts that say – I see you, I hear you, and you are worthy of love and respect. As we treat one another in this way, I believe we will honor God in all the ways we worship and in the process, make our community a place of care and compassion.
So let’s make February – Love Thy Neighbor month!
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