Learning to Love Your Neighbor - Your Nightly Prayer - February 13th
Learning to Love Your Neighbor
Your Nightly Prayer
By Chelsey DeMatteis
TONIGHT'S SCRIPTURE
“Love your neighbor as yourself.” - Mark 12:31
SOMETHING TO PONDER
As 2025 came to a close, I sensed the Lord nudging me toward the upcoming spiritual venture He had planned for me. It started with this scripture:
Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. Matthew 22:37-39
This venture didn’t come with an end date or a strict timeline, but it did mark the start of a lifelong work of the heart that I’ve somehow missed, “loving your neighbor as yourself”. Maybe you’re scratching your head, wondering how a Christian author and speaker could miss such a thing?
I’m with you, and I asked myself the same question. How have I somehow missed the end of that command from the Lord, “love your neighbor as yourself”? Yourself. I was immediately grieved. This command from Jesus is to love those around me (my spouse, children, friends, and community) as I love myself.
As quickly as I felt the wind being sucked out of my sails, God gently blew fresh breath, perspective, and grace into them. This conviction of my heart quickly turned into one of the most incredible, intimate moments with the Holy Spirit I’ve experienced.
I jotted this down in my notes...
“We would all be better if the measure at which we loved ourselves, and others, was rooted in the immeasurable - yet tangible - love of God. We measure too often by earthly standards. We set guidelines and parameters that shouldn’t exist. We rank who is most deserving of the love we have to offer. Does God possess such partiality? No. No, He does not. To do so would not align with His character. He is love, and yes, He is just - but He does not withhold love. He calls His children beloved. And calls His beloved children to love like Him.”
When Jesus came to dwell among us, He embodied the love we are to live from. We never see Christ tearing himself apart or dwelling on negative thoughts. We see the exact opposite. We see a man, who, yes, was fully God - but fully man, do nothing but lead with the love He had planted in His heart by His father, Our Father. He loved and honored the body God had given Him and was reverent to take the gospel to everyone He encountered. And through the lavish love of God, Jesus loved and led others to eternal life and freedom from the bondage that held them captive.
You and I being called to love our neighbors means showing compassion and grace to those around us in a way that honors the Lord. I believe with all my heart that to do that well, we must love ourselves as the beloved Child of God we are. When we look in the mirror, we cannot tear apart what God knit together. When we work hard, we should not downplay or diminish what we have done with the gifts God has given us. The list goes on. And when we can get these parts right and see ourselves the way Christ sees us, we will look at others the same way - the Jesus way.
We will have more compassion and patience. We will be quicker to extend the grace and mercy that we know we, too, have received. Love will abound. Love will lead. And this love, the love of Christ, will change the world - one neighbor at a time.
YOUR NIGHTLY PRAYER
Father,
Thank you for pouring out your love on me. You call those who follow you 'your beloved children’. And you call your ‘beloved children’ to love others the way they love themselves. Loving myself the way you love me can be difficult. There are days, weeks, and years when I know I have not loved myself or those around me well. The lack of love I showed myself indeed overflowed into how I showed up for those around me. And, truth be told, it wasn’t your love being withheld from me; it was me missing the call to live as beloved. Holy Spirit, convict me if I stumble this way again, though I hope I do not. I want to live and love like you. I want to sow fruitful seeds of compassion and grace in the lives of those around me. I pray for opportunities to learn more about your lavish love for me as I walk in the love of Jesus and share that love with those around me. Grow me, Lord, and shape me. Make me more like you.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
THREE THINGS TO MEDITATE UPON
1. Do I love others with the same grace and patience God shows me—or do I hold back?
2. How would my relationships change if I saw myself and others as beloved, without exception or rank?
3. What’s one way I can reflect Christ’s compassion to someone in my daily life today?
Reflect on tonight’s prayer and share how God met you there. Join the Your Nightly Prayer discussion on the Crosswalk Forum.
Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/JackF
Chelsey is the voice behind the Living with Less Podcast and author of the 52-week devotional More of Him, Less of Me: Living a Christ-centered Life in a Me-centered World. She writes devotions for Lifeway Women's Journey Magazine, Crosswalk.com, and iBelieve.com. She also writes Bible reading plans for the YouVersion Bible App. Chelsey lives in Ohio with her husband and two children. You can connect with her on Instagram @chelseydematteis and at her website ChelseyDeMatteis.com.
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