May 7th, time to love your neighbour!

“Love your neighbour as yourself”
Luke 10:27

The command to love your neighbour as yourself was part of the answer the expert in the law gave Jesus when challenged by him to summarise what the law said. Jesus told him he had answered well and that if he followed his answer, which was to love God and love his neighbour, then he would find eternal life. But the man responded with the question “who is my neighbour?” and Jesus replied with the parable of a man going down from Jerusalem to Jericho. You can read the full account in Luke 10:25-37.

We are now just a few days away from a General Election and having had so long to pray and think about it, we should be becoming clearer about who we will vote for. The Christian vote is distinctively different because Christians are the only group in society who will never vote for their own benefit, but always for the benefit of others. We are the ones who are asking our Lord “who is my neighbour” and then considering which party will serve their needs best as opposed to our needs.

Our vote isn’t driven by whether we are pensioners, single, married, wealthy or poor. It isn’t driven by what nationality we are or the deal each party is offering our region of the UK. It isn’t shaped by ideologies such as a belief in privatised or nationalised industries, or large or small state. It isn’t influenced by what our parents voted, what neighbourhood we live in, or who our friends are.

Our vote is determined by the answer to one question. “Who is my neighbour?” Because when we know who our neighbour is then we can work out how best to love them in casting our vote. From the parable Jesus told in Luke 10 and his other teachings, and from the writings of Paul, it seems reasonably clear that our neighbour is primarily the poor, the oppressed, and the needy.

All this makes voting vitally important for us as Christians. If we don’t cast our vote then we are failing to raise our voice on behalf of the poor, oppressed and needy. We might proclaim that we aren’t political, but we do have a calling from our Lord to cast our vote. When we vote we are acting as disciples of Jesus, proclaiming his kingdom, and doing our part to see it coming to earth.

The churches in the UK have a campaign, “Love your neighbour: think, pray, vote”. Let’s determine to make sure we don’t miss this precious chance to show love for our neighbours.