Love Thy Neighbor

by Mark Spencer   Nov 18, 2014


Love Thy Neighbor
By Mark Spencer

Scripture asks us to love our neighbor.
But some think love comes without labor.
It's something we speak,
Not something we seek.
A fine cup of wine with no flavor.

Declarations of love make me laugh.
Without knowledge such words are just chaff.
You say I love you,
But that isn't true,
'Til you've traveled that ship, fore and aft.

Our neighbors are like gems in a box,
Which are freely displayed without locks.
But when you decide
To not look inside,
Your love goes no deeper than the box.

It's the heart that defines who we are.
And you cannot love that from afar.
You have to dig in,
Look under the skin,
To do this you must open the jar.

Anything less is only a lie,
Just a superficial lullaby.
When you won't connect,
It's sung for effect,
And the world doesn't care to know why.

In God's kingdom, would this be your goal -
To have neighbors without heart or soul?
Should we love your grace,
Or only your face?
For a love without depth isn't whole.

If make believe love has sufficed,
You should know that such things have a price.
Rewards one receives,
Show what he believes,
When such love has been offered to Christ.

As you have loved the least of His flock,
Those empty faces there on your block,
That's how you love Him,
A face in a Hymn,
It's a church built on mud, not on rock.

So before He meets us at the gate,
Learn this lesson before it's too late.
Love's ultimate goal,
To reveal the soul,
Is a truth that determines our fate.

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