Who Are We Commanded to Love?
If you believe that we are supposed to love everybody, look again. Surprisingly, God never commanded us to love everybody. That’s God’s job. He’s big enough to handle it.
“For God so loved the world, that He gave his only begotten son…”—John 3:16 (KJV)
If we were commanded to love everybody in the world, that would be overwhelming. How could we ever hope to accomplish that? Thankfully, God never saddled us with that burden of responsibility.
In fact, the only time Jesus even singled out a group of people for us to love was in His command to “love your enemies” (Matthew 5:44; Luke 6:27). In every other case, He commanded us to direct our love to *individuals *— to focus on the one near us who has needs. That is manageable. That is something we can handle. And that is where He wants our focus to be.
“These things I command you, that you love one another.”—John 15:17 (NKJV)
“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”—Matthew 19:19; Matthew 22:39; Mark 12:31; Luke 10:27
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”—John 13:34-35 (NKJV)
“This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.”—John 15: 12–13 (NKJV)
So…Who Is the Focus of Our Ministry?
God wants the focus of our ministry to be on individuals we encounter who have needs.
Jesus gave us a clear picture of what this looks like in the story of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:25–37:
A legal expert stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to gain eternal life?”
Jesus replied, “What is written in the Law? How do you interpret it?”
He responded, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.”
Jesus said to him, “You have answered correctly. Do this and you will live.”
But the legal expert wanted to prove that he was right, so he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
Jesus replied, “A man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. He encountered thieves, who stripped him naked, beat him up, and left him near death. Now it just so happened that a priest was also going down the same road. When he saw the injured man, he crossed over to the other side of the road and went on his way. Likewise, a Levite came by that spot, saw the injured man, and crossed over to the other side of the road and went on his way. A Samaritan, who was on a journey, came to where the man was. But when he saw him, he was moved with compassion. The Samaritan went to him and bandaged his wounds, tending them with oil and wine. Then he placed the wounded man on his own donkey, took him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day, he took two full days’ worth of wages and gave them to the innkeeper. He said, ‘Take care of him, and when I return, I will pay you back for any additional costs.’ What do you think? Which one of these three was a neighbor to the man who encountered thieves?”
Then the legal expert said, “The one who demonstrated mercy toward him.”
Notice that when the Samaritan stopped to help the man in need, he was on his way to go somewhere else. This was an interruption in his schedule, but he realized that this interruption was more important than keeping his schedule that day. This is often the same for us in our daily journeys. We just need to be alert and available when these interruptions cross our paths.
We are called and commanded to be “neighbors” who show mercy and compassion to individuals who have needs. Jesus finished this story of the Good Samaritan by saying, “Go and do likewise.”
As Heidi Baker often says, “Just love the one in front of you.”
Or as Mother Teresa used to say, “Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier.”
And as Jesus Himself assures us, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” (Matthew 25:40 NIV)
