Love and Justice in the Christian Congregation - Conclusion of A LAW BUILT ON LOVE

Lessons:  How can we imitate Jehovah's love? (Ephesians 5:1, 2) We view each of our brothers and sisters as valuable and precious, and we gladly welcome back "a lost sheep" who returns to Jehovah.  (Psalm 119:176)  We prove that we love our brothers and sisters by giving of ourselves, such as by helping them in time of need. (1 John 3:17)  When we treat others in loving ways, we are obeying the law of the Christ.

Third, Jesus commanded his followers to show self-sacrificing love. (Read John 13:34, 35.)  Jesus' commandments is new because it calls for a kind of love that was not required under the Law that God gave Israel: Love fellow believers as Jesus loved you.   That requires a self-sacrificing love. We are to love our brothers and sisters even more than we love ourselves. We must love them to the point of being willing to give up our life for them, as Jesus did for us.

Lessons:  How do we obey the new commandments? Put simply, by making sacrifices for our brothers and sisters.  We are willing to make the ultimate sacrifice -giving up our life - but also smaller sacrifices.  For example, when we regularly go out of our way to pick up an elderly brother or sister for a meeting, or we willing give up our own preferences in order to please a love one, or we take time off from secular work to help with disaster relief, we are obeying the law of the Christ.  We are also helping to make our congregation a place where each individual can feel safe and secure.

Next time: Love and Justice in the Christian Congregation- A LAW THAT PROMOTES JUSTICE

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