Loving Others

In today’s world, self-love is widely promoted through advertisements and media. And rightly so - it's important to love oneself.  After all, if you don’t love yourself, how can you truly love others?

But we must also remember that God’s command is to love others as we love ourselves.

The Lord Jesus Christ said that the greatest commandment is to "love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind." And the second is like it: "love your neighbor as yourself" (Matthew 22:36–40).

Love for God fuels and shapes our love for others - and the reverse can also be true.

But who is my neighbor? And since the command is to love them, does that mean I am also my siblings’ keeper?

In the Bible, the term neighbor carries a broader, more inclusive meaning. It doesn’t just refer to the people living near us. Rather, it includes everyone we encounter in this world we share - even the grumpy man at the supermarket or the chatty lady in line at the cinema. Every human being is our neighbor.

And yes, in a deeper sense, our siblings are our neighbors too. They are often the first people with whom we form close bonds, learn to communicate, and grow. As family, we are called not only to love them, but also to care for them.

God commands us to love our siblings. And loving them means being their keeper - watching over them, protecting them, and encouraging them to walk in God’s ways. When they go astray, we are called to gently guide them back to the right path.

As the eldest in the family, I’ve felt a sense of responsibility for my siblings from an early age - to care for them and help them as best I can. And yet, among us, I’ve always had the gentlest personality.

Sometimes, I’ve asked myself: Why did God make me the eldest? Shouldn’t the eldest be strong and assertive - a natural leader for the others?

I love my siblings deeply, but because we’re not a family that openly shows affection, expressing it can sometimes feel uncomfortable or unfamiliar.  Moreover, it saddens me when I’m unable to help them, or when my intentions are misunderstood. Sometimes, I grieve the fact that we are not the kind of family I hoped we would be.

Still, I know that I cannot control others - their actions, thoughts, or choices. But I can control how I respond.

So I choose to respond with kindness and understanding - even when the words around me are harsh or hurtful.

1 John 4:7 - "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God".