Why our neighbor?

For the Colson Center, I'm John Stone Street with the point.

The second most important commandment, said Jesus, what's to love your neighbor as yourself?

But why our neighbor?

Decades ago, G.K. Chesterton offered an explanation, quote,

the man who lives in a small community lives in a much larger world.

The reason's obvious.

In a large community, we choose our companions.

In a small community, our companions are

chosen for us. We make our friends, we make our enemies, but God makes our next door neighbor. Hence,

he comes to us, clad in all the careless terrors of nature. He's as strange as the stars, as reckless,

and indifferent as the rain. That's why the old religions and old scriptural language showed so

sharp of wisdom

when they spoke, not of our duty towards humanity, but of our duty towards one's neighbor.

Now, of course, Jesus was the first one to expand the word neighbor to people that we don't even

like. Our neighbors might not share our convictions, our lifestyle, our worldview. But agreement

is not a necessary prerequisite for love. share our convictions, our lifestyle, our worldview, but agreement is not a necessary

prerequisite for love. So our neighbor is the best place to get started. For the Colson Center,

I'm John Stone Street with The Point.