“For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.””
—Galatians 5:14

I don’t know about you, but I am very convicted by this verse because I am basically selfish. I have to overcome my own nature, and I am overcoming, but it is a slow and challenging process. It takes resolve and self-sacrifice. It involves picking up our cross, denying ourselves, and following Him (Matt. 16:24).

I’ve been walking with the Lord now since 1978. And the older I get in the Lord, the more I understand that love is the greatest thing of all. When I was younger in the Lord, so many issues kept me divided from people. Now I realize that maturity is to walk in unity. And what produces unity? Love.

Today’s scripture teaches us that in the same way we take care of ourselves we need to take care of others. We need to give consideration to those around us. If you want people to be considerate to you, then you need to also be considerate to them.

This verse presents another paradigm: we are to love our neighbor as ourselves. But wait, what if we don’t love ourselves? If we hate ourselves, that self-hatred is going to reflect onto the people closest to us. We need to work on letting God love us so we can be healed of self-rejection and then be equipped to love others.

I want to encourage us today to walk in love, because love is what brings everything together. Some people are looking for reasons to be divided. They’re looking for ways to produce discord. Mark my words, that’s of the devil. Yeshua prayed to the Father in John 17:23 that His sons and daughters would walk in unity and love. As you and I put our minds to this purpose, we are going to ascend in His power. Let’s go up the mountain of love.

Father God, help me to love others as You have loved me. Heal every wound that has caused me to hate myself, even in subtle ways, so I can love my neighbor as myself. Help me to see myself as You do and to see others as You see them so that I can experience a greater measure of Your Spirit and glory.

Rabbi Kirt A. Schneider, Rivers of Divine Truth (Lake Mary, FL: Charisma House, 2021), Used by permission.