On Earth as it is in Heaven (Micah 6:6-8)

When Jesus was asked by a lawyer “What is the greatest commandment” he replied, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind, and the second is like it love your neighbor as yourself.” Our neighbor is the person neigh unto us.  The one in the cereal aisle next to us. Or in the ditch on the other side of the road from us. Or the Samaritan outcast, who showed what loving one’s neighbor really means. And Jesus, himself is our model for this.  He met the physical, spiritual and relational needs of the whole person. Ultimately it was God who brought heaven to earth—in the incarnation, in the person of Jesus, who not only reconciled us to a relationship with God but showed us the way to respond to others in need of the same. Jesus shows us that the kingdom of heaven is among us, and often, in places we don't see as so pleasant, amongst people we might otherwise avoid, in circumstances we would rather not face. He asks this of us not by heaping burdensome to-dos on our already weary selves, but by moving our hearts to love in action, those He loves. Not for rewards or recognition but to reflect  Jesus to others. Recognizing the worth of every person God has made and for whom Jesus died.