In the Light of God Christian Books - Love Your Neighbor as Would a Dog

Love Your Neighbor as Would a Dog By In the Light of God Christian Books Smashwords Edition ****** Published by: In the Light of God Christian Books onSmashwords Love Your Neighbor as Would a Dog Copyright 2015 by In the Light of GodChristian Books Im sure that each and every Christian is, atleast, vaguely familiar with the commandment, love thy neighboras thyself, written in Matthew 5:43 and 19:19, as well as in Mark12:31 and Luke 10:10 (King James Version). Matthew, Chapter 5, goeson, in verses 44 and 45 to say, But I say untoyou, Love your enemies, bless them thatcurse you, do good to them that hate you,and pray for them which despitefully use you,and persecute you; That ye maybe the children of your Father which is in heaven:for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, andsendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. How would it then be difficult to say, Loveyour neighbor as would a dog? What does this mean? How can youlove like a dog? Can you humble yourself and come unto Christ as achild? What does that mean? Along the same lines as watch childrenand learn to be as humble and innocent as they are, to learn in theselfless manner that they do, follow the behaviors of a dog. Idont mean to go around, licking everyone you see. That wouldprobably be considered, by most, to be pretty gross, and it mighteven get you punched in the face. So, what do I mean? Have you ever noticed howloving dogs are, how gentle they are (given that they are notpurposely abused)? Dogs do not care who a person is, what a persondoes, where they are from, their religion, their background,nationality, ethnicity, gender, age, skin color, or any otherfactor(s) about a person.

Even dogs that are mistreated will, quiteoften, still show great love and affection toward the very peoplethat have mistreated them. Much as a dog loves those that havemistreated him/her, are we not to love those that have despitefullyand purposely used us? What did Christ say on the matter? He said,in Matthew, 18:22 (King James Version), when asked how many timeswe must forgive those that mistreat us: I say not Unto thee, untilseven times; but, Until seventy times seven. Should we climb onto everyone elses laps?Should we lick their faces and sneeze on them? Should we grab ourfavorite ball or rope with our mouth and run up to another personand growl, expecting that that person will play tug-of-war with us?Of course not. Should we discriminate based on circumstance, basedon things with which a person was born and did not choose to haveor display? Should we judge others for things that we simply do notunderstand or do not care to try to understand? No. Should we lookat every person as if they might just show us the same love that wewish to be shown to us? Yes. Should we decide that each person isspecial in his/her own ways and that that person deserves respectand kindness, even if they have been spiteful and even downrighthateful to us? Yes.

In the end, even if someone does notappreciate how you treat them or the kind things that you do forthem, you will feel better, and more than that, the Lord will knowwhat you have done and how you have behaved toward one of theleast of these my brethren? (Matthew 25:40 King James Version)You will store your rewards in Heaven for your deeds, but I saythat far before that day, you will store up the reward on Earth ofhaving made someone elses life slightly better and the addedreward of the knowledge of that and that you have done right. It may be as simple as a small gesture, asmile, a handshake, asking someone how they are doing, asking ifthey need help with anything, taking someone less fortunate a meal,etc. One small act of kindness might make someones day and may bepaid forward to another person. Be like a dog. Show love whereveryou go, no matter how difficult that is. Everyone is fighting abattle on a daily basis, but why make others battles more severe?A dog will lick the dirtiest, smelliest, even the meanest personaround (in most cases).

How can we judge based on factors such asskin, beliefs, age, gender, nationality, etc.? Are we not all thesame inside? Are we not all children of One God and brothers andsisters of the Only Begotten Son? You might make someone feel better, or, atthe least, you might make yourself feel better and let a lovingelder brother that paid his life for you and for your sin know thatyou appreciate everything that He has done and that you cherish hisdeeds and lessons that He has given you and that you want to paythat forward to someone else. This is not always easy, but it isthe least of the commandments. All others follow after and are lessimportant. If we can master love, we can master the rest. Take 30 seconds out of your day and watch adog, how it treats people, how it loves unconditionally, why it iscalled mans best friend. The simplest of creatures can teach usthe most about life, simplest because that is how we view them,whether animals or children.

Quite often, they are far wiser thanare we, the adult humans. Bonus Material I Want to Believe By Jason Wallace *This is published under the name of In theLight of God Christian Books; however, each book has its ownindividual author. This poem is not to say that I do not believein God and in Christ, the means of my salvation, nor that Idiscredit them or do not hold them dear to my heart always. This isabout people shoving their exact beliefs down my throat andexpecting me to believe 100% of what they believe, without everhearing my side or believing that there could be room for leewayor, at least, to hear someone else out, that someone else mighthave valid points to make. Not everything is always so easy or easyto believe. Sometimes, one persons faith does not match upentirely with another persons, thus, the reason for reasonable,logical, ethical, and heartfelt conversations that allow both sidesto state their beliefs, opinions, thoughts, musings, and engage oneanother, and, perhaps, learn from one another about that light thatcomes from Christ and from within, from a personal relationshipwith the Master.

I want to believe as you do. I want to have your kind of faith, But when I repeat the words youve toldme, They all leave my mouth With a bitter kind of taste. I dont want to just follow so blindly, And maybe right now, I Really am just being blind. Every time you come to find me To preach what I already know And just dont understand, You think that my doubtful questions Mean Im just rebellious And not falling into your clear-cut line And slapping away the Almightys hand. More of my questions go unanswered, Though you tell me each one Can be washed away with prayer. I pray more than you can even fathom, And I know that God is always there.

But what do I do When I cant be you And accept everything I hear? How do I know Its not a dog and pony show, Just a big illusion of smoke and mirrors? I believe in God. I believe in Christ, But Im not sure that What you call so wrong Isnt for me, whats right. You tell me to be stronger, To just stop thinking the way that I do. Why dont you try breathing no longer And see if that, too, carries youthrough? Thats what it would be like for me To just give up on this search, To forget what confuses and hurts, To take as truth what Ive swallowed Since the earliest days of my youth And never dared to think for myself Because someone always said they knew whatwas best. I still try to love And live by the laws of Him from Above. I fail when I do, But I push on and renew My hopes and my plans To at least, leave others be And not make them feel so afraid, Using all the scare tactics that youpush, Thinking that through your demands, Everyone will do what you do And say what you say And hope what you hope And never look at all that they see And think is this for me, Whether its good for anyone but you, Can you really say? Can I cope with your words And interpretations of verse That leave me left alone, all for worse? I love your love for me And your thinking that I cant be turnedaway And just have to be Everything that you believe that you are But if youll leave me to figure Some things out before they bore bigger Holes in my soul, all in my all, in myconscience And conscious, constant, contemplativepersonal pains That are needing consoled.