‘Love Thy Neighbor,’ Really? Is That All You Got?

Lately, it has been far easier to despair than to love concretely. The Trump administration’s strategy of flooding the zone has made me feel powerless and overwhelmed — which is, as Adam Russell Taylor recently described it, precisely the point. Even while wrestling with lament, I’ve wanted to move toward contributing to addressing injustice to counter the pervasive injustice that occupies so much of our news. But I’ve just not known how. I’ve felt that nothing in my sphere of direct influence is grand enough to move any kind of needle.

But being a faithful follower of Christ is, in fact, less about giving a virtuoso solo performance and more often playing a small part in a great work we cannot fully comprehend.

The prescription for faithfulness, which generations of God’s people have clung to through countless challenging political situations — from exile to Roman occupation to modern dictators — is simple: “Love the Lord thy God and love thy neighbor as thyself” (Matthew 22:37-40). Simple, but so small. Love thy neighbor, really? Is that all you got? Read Full Article »