³⁷ Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the first and great commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’

Matthew 22:37-39 NKJV

Jesus’ final week was filled with the religious leaders trying to challenge Jesus. One of those challenges came when the Pharisees put a lawyer up to ask Jesus a question about what is the great commandment of the law. They failed to understand that there was no ideology they could challenge Jesus on that He would not be able to answer.

Jesus told Him that the great commandment is all about loving God. However, within Jesus’ answer came a challenge that is still being posed to all of us today. You see, it is very easy for us to say that we love God, however, loving God involves one putting their words into action. What is that action? Jesus said that one should love their neighbor as they love themselves.

You see, we are to live in fellowship not just with the Lord but with each other as well! Our fellowship with the Lord isn’t complete, isn’t true, if we don’t move in a manner of loving all of those who are around us. This is where so many of us who love to profess Christ are failing today: we aren’t striving to love the stranger or those who are different from us.

Do you think Jesus only gave His life for people who are like you? No, Jesus gave His life for the world – for every tribe, tongue, culture, and nation of people. Every walk of life will be present in the kingdom of heaven! So, if you’re failing to love everyone today, I encourage you to put a foot forward to love all of those who are around you.