Love God, Neighbor, Enemy
The instruction from Jesus to love God with your whole heart, soul, strength, and mind—and your neighbor as yourself—has come to be called the Great Commandment. And it is great! It is comprehensive. It is active. It is expansive. In the Love God, Neighbor, Enemy unit, we see that while enemies are not mentioned specifically, the call to love is extravagant.
Love of God and neighbor is not fully expressed if we are only loving when it is convenient or comfortable. Through the exploration of this practice, participants will learn how—from those who may be hard to love to those who we fear or who may do us harm—the imperative to love enemies, just as we love God or our neighbor, is throughout Scripture. This practice explores this call to love through action by serving a stranger, showing mercy, washing another’s feet, being courageous, and living peaceably.
Adult Reflection Guide
The Adult Reflection Guide is a workbook or journal for adults that allows for self-guided study of the practice. This guide engages adults through study, reflection questions, space for writing or drawing, and suggestions for practicing the practice. Included in this piece is the foundational essay, which dives even deeper into the biblical scholarship of each practice. This piece works well for individual study or for small group study when combined with the Adult Leader’s Guide.
Featured in the Adult Reflection Guide:
Love Extravagantly (Luke 6:27–42)
Serve a Stranger (1 Kings 17:8–16)
Show Mercy (1 Samuel 24; Luke 23:32–43)
Wash Another’s Feet (John 13:1–20)
Be Courageous (Acts 6:8–7:2, 51–60)
Live Peaceably (Romans 12:9–21)
