Love Your Neighbor. No Exceptions.

Author: Douglas Yeo
November 07, 2024

The other day, I had lunch with a friend. Our conversation touched on many things, including the election, some of the hot button social issues, and chaos and crisis around the world. We agreed that putting our faith in temporal leaders—as important as they are—is not a recipe for creating heaven on earth. The truth of Scripture centers us: “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God” (Psalm 20:7). The heaven on earth business is in God’s—not our—hands, as Revelation 21 reminds us.

Even so, in our fraught cultural moment, we often find ourselves frustrated and even anxious about the current state of earthly affairs. It is easy to look at those with whom we disagree and think, “THEY are so wrong. I don’t like THEM, or THEIR ideas. THEY are the cause of all of our problems. If THEY thought like me, things would be better.” 

As I drove home from my lunch appointment, I passed by a church. I’ve driven by this church countless times, but on that day—because God is God and God does remarkable, unexpected things to get our attention—I saw something I had not noticed before. There was a sign in front of the church, and after parking my car, I walked over and read it. Maybe you’ve seen it:

What is your first thought when you read this sign? Maybe you think as I did. “That’s true. Some of the people in that church probably have some work to do to love people like ME.”

But then, God did something. As I reread the first line of the sign, “Love your neighbor,” the convicting work of the Holy Spirit took hold. While I had been thinking about how much work THEY had to do to love ME—their neighbor—the Spirit prompted this thought: “Douglas, what do YOU need to do to love THEM—your neighbor?”

When I got home, I opened my Bible. The commandment to “love your neighbor” is unambiguous and often repeated, whether we read it in Leviticus 19:18 or in Matthew 22:39. The words are the same, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” No exceptions. And who is my neighbor? Who is your neighbor? We’ve read the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25–37) enough times to know: our neighbor is anyone. Anyone. Everyone. We are called to love our neighbor. No exceptions.

Then I thought about those uncomfortable words Jesus spoke in the Sermon on the Mount, where He said, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). As citizens of what my friend and pastor, Chris Castaldo, calls “the upside down kingdom,” how do we actually DO this? 

My mind turned to the task of applying this idea of loving my neighbor. It seemed both so easy and so difficult. I began to pray, and as I prayed, I started making excuses: “But, Lord, what about HER? Or HIM? What about ‘THE OTHER’ in my life, the people who don’t love You and Your commands? That person at work. That politician in Washington, D.C. That world leader across the ocean? How can I love THEM when THEY don’t love me or You? How can I love THEM when THEY seem to do everything THEY can to thwart Your justice, when THEY commit despicable, heinous acts, when THEY insult and hurt others, including me?” And out of the whirlwind of self-justification and competing cultural voices, the words from which I could not hide came at me again: “Love your neighbor. No exceptions.” 

It was time to stop hemming and hawing. I reached for my copy of the Heidelberg Catechism. Since 1563, the Catechism has provided wise counsel on biblical doctrine. In questions and answers 105, 106, and 107, the Catechism discusses the Sixth Commandment—Thou shalt not murder—reminding us that murder involves much more than a physical act. The Heidelberg Catechism says:

Question: What does God require in the sixth commandment?

Answer: I am not to dishonor, hate, injure, or kill my neighbor by thoughts, words, or gestures, and much less by deeds, whether personally or through another; rather, I am to put away all desire of revenge. Moreover, I am not to harm or recklessly endanger myself. Therefore, also, the government bears the sword to prevent murder.

Question: But does this commandment speak only of killing?

Answer: By forbidding murder God teaches us that He hates the root of murder, such as envy, hatred, anger, and desire of revenge, and that He regards all these as murder.

Question: Is it enough, then, that we do not kill our neighbor in any such way? 

Answer: No. When God condemns envy, hatred, and anger, He commands us to love our neighbor as ourselves, to show patience, peace, gentleness, mercy, and friendliness toward him, to protect him from harm as much as we can, and to do good even to our enemies.

Jesus spoke of this when He said that not only murderers will be liable to judgment. “But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment” (Matthew 5:21). When I read this, I was convicted by the thought that I am a serial killer. We all are. 

Scripture tells us that all human beings are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27). You are made in the image of God. So am I. And so are those who don’t vote as you or I do, even those who oppose God’s truth, and righteousness, and justice. 

Loving our neighbors does not mean we always agree with them. When disagreements arise, we are called to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15). But when we do speak the truth, we are called to be patient and kind toward those with whom we disagree—and those we find to be disagreeable. Even if they are not patient and kind toward us. We need to love them; we need to pray for them. 

In a world where it seems that everyone is shouting at “the other,” this is not easy. But Jesus never said it would be easy. He told us: Love your neighbor. No exceptions. 

I have some work to do. How about you?

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Douglas Yeo is a member of New Covenant Church.



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