Loving Others

Something to think about

Reading this verse we might think of the second great commandment: love your neighbour as yourself. Jonathan fulfilled it in his friendship with David, for Jonathan 'loved him as his own soul’.

You may not meet any of the people or communities that you support through Christian Aid. But can you imagine what it would look like for you or me to love someone who lives far from us, whose life is different from ours, who we will never meet, with the same vigour as we love our own souls?

I think that to love like this might look like being a part of a transformative global movement for change.

As part of such a movement, Christian Aid aims to do three things:

• Tackle poverty – We reach those most in need, in some of the hardest to reach places around the world.
• Speak truth to power – We challenge the systemic and structural causes of poverty by holding those in power to account.
• Raise up prophetic voices – As we speak truth to power, we seek to build local and collective agency

How far can you go as part of this movement? What difference will it make to the world to love others as we love our own souls?

Something to do

Commit to finding a friend alongside whom you will give, act, and pray for the work of Christian Aid. You can encourage each other as you work together.

Something to pray

Our Father,
I love you because you have first loved me.
Strengthen my resolve to dearly love everyone
and serve them with my resources,
my voice and my concern,
to the end that poverty may be eradicated in this world,
Amen.

Adapted from a contribution by Moses Tumukunde Tutesigensi, who was training to be ordained in Presbyterian Church of Wales at time of writing. He has been a keen supporter of Christian Aid for a number of years including in the Wales team.