Loving Your Neighbour
By Pastor Jerry A. Burns
It is easy to speak about love, but much harder to live it. Loving our neighbour is not merely having kind feelings toward someone. It means choosing to care, serve, forgive, listen, and show compassion, even when it is inconvenient.
Jesus placed loving our neighbour alongside loving God. The two are closely connected. Our love for God should be visible in the way we treat the people around us. We cannot claim to walk closely with the Lord while continually showing bitterness, cruelty, impatience, or indifference toward others.
Our neighbour is not only the person who lives beside us. It is the lonely person who needs encouragement, the struggling family who needs help, the coworker who needs patience, the church member who needs prayer, and even the difficult person who tests our grace. In the parable of the good Samaritan, Jesus showed that a neighbour is anyone God places within the reach of our compassion.
Sometimes loving our neighbour requires practical action. It may mean preparing a meal, offering a ride, making a phone call, giving financially, or simply taking time to listen. Love often appears through small acts that may seem insignificant to us but mean everything to someone who is hurting.
Loving our neighbour also means being willing to forgive. People will disappoint us. They may speak carelessly, act selfishly, or fail to appreciate what we have done. Yet God calls us to extend the same mercy that He has extended to us. Forgiveness does not excuse wrongdoing, but it releases bitterness and leaves judgment in the hands of God.
As a pastor, I am reminded that people do not always need another sermon; sometimes they simply need to see the love of Christ. A compassionate word, a patient response, or a sincere act of kindness may open a heart to the gospel in a way that an argument never could.
The world is filled with people who feel overlooked, rejected, and forgotten. God has placed His people in this world to shine. When we love our neighbours, we become living examples of the grace of Jesus Christ. Our kindness may not always be noticed or returned, but it is always seen by the Lord.
Today, ask God to help you notice the people around you. Someone near you may be carrying a burden that you know nothing about. You may not be able to solve every problem, but you can show compassion. You can pray, listen, encourage, and remind them that they are not alone.
Think of one person God has placed in your life who may need encouragement. Reach out to them today with a kind message, a phone call, a prayer, or a practical act of service. Ask the Lord to help you love others not only with your words, but through your actions.
"The fear of man bringeth a snare: But whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe." — Proverbs 29:25
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This Week's Radio Program
Week Eighteen • May 3, 2026
Trusting God With Tomorrow (Pt. 3)
In this final part of the message, “Trusting God with Tomorrow,” we are brought face to face with a powerful truth from Scripture—while we often plan our days and assume the future, the Bible teaches us that life is fragile, uncertain, and completely in God’s hands. As James reminds us, our life is “even a vapour” that appears for a little time and then vanishes away . The issue is not planning, but planning without God—living as though we are in control of what only God knows.
This message walks through the heart of biblical trust: having a proper perspective of tomorrow, a humble posture before God today, and a surrendered plan that says, “If the Lord will.” Whether facing uncertainty, fear, or the illusion of control, we are called to draw near to God, rest in His care, and trust that His will is good, even when tomorrow is unknown. Because Christ has risen, our future is secure—not in our plans, but in His perfect hands.
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