Nehemiah 2:9–10 (ESV): “Then I came to the governors of the province Beyond the River and gave them the king’s letters. Now the king had sent with me officers of the army and horsemen. But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant heard this, it displeased them greatly that someone had come to seek the welfare of the people of Israel.”
Jesus said the two greatest commands are to love God and to love others (Matt. 22:36-40). If you love God, you will love others. The condition of your heart is revealed by how you love!
Nehemiah was the cupbearer to King Artaxerxes. Two waves of exiles had returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. When Nehemiah heard the people were in trouble, it saddened him. He fasted, prayed, and petitioned for forgiveness on their behalf. Artaxerxes noticed his sorrow and granted him the authority to return to Jerusalem and help the people of God rebuild (Dan. 9:25). Nehemiah loved God, and this love gave him a supernatural love for God’s people.
Do you love God? If you do, then you will also love others. Your love for others tells the story of your love for God. The Apostle John wrote, “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from Him: whoever loves God must also love his brother” (1 John 4:20-21). Check your heart. If you find you do not love others as you should, it may be because you do not love God as you should. Ask the Lord to change your heart and give you the fruit of the Holy Spirit, which is love (Gal. 5:22).
Father, thank You for loving us as You do. May we love You as we ought and, in turn, love others. Fill us with Your Spirit that we might yield the fruit of love. We pray in Jesus’ name, amen.
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