|
In light of the above table and the abounding combinations, God's command to us really does seem to be the best solution for peace and harmony: Love your neighbour as yourself.
But unlike the expert in the law, whose problem to his mind was not what love entailed but to whom he should show it (cf Luke 10:25-37), we often sense that we lack in what love really looks like in practice. But at this point we must remember that God's command to love one another is the fruit of walking in the Spirit (cf Galatians 5:22), therefore the command first of all resolves into one of loving God first with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and only then can you love your neighbour! (little wonder God always gave this as His first command to us!) The fact that the expert in the law who came to Jesus had to ask who his neighbour was reveals that he was not in a right relationship with God and had a false understanding therefore not only of Him but also of himself, therefore being limited in his scope of showing love.
We may thus say that our sense of lack in defining what love looks like in practice is actually a manifestation that we, too, are not walking in love with God! Hence this document has first of all focused on getting our relationship with God right, and establishing our identity in Him (see Beta).
But this being said, we may add some pertinent comments and remarks concerning each of these aspects of interpersonal dynamics to help us undo the false thought patterns that may have been established in our lives prior to entering into a close relationship with God. The following remarks, whilst not exhaustive, hopefully will provide some helpful tools in leading us into blessing in our inter-personal relationships.
|
|
