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 What Jesus said about life and love
Love your neighbours and your enemies
Jesus was always very keen to get the point across that we should love one another, and he saw this love as taking a very practical approach, and he also thought that this love should extend to our enemies. This is something which people find very hard to accept, even now. I don't believe Jesus meant us to approve of everything that our enemy does to us but that we should not return the hate of an enemy but we should respond with love and help.
Who is my neighbour?
People often think that they should only care for those who are close to them e.g. their neighbour or a member of their family. Jesus wanted love and kindness to extend further than that, he famously told the parable of the good Samaritan where the traditional enemy of the Jew helped a Jew when other Jews would not. It is a shocking story and caused quite a stir.
 You can read the Good Samaritan story at Bible Gateway
Help those who are in need
Jesus didn't want love to be only about hugs and kisses he wanted it to be about solid practical help.
Jesus showed great concern for the poor and encouraged his followers to care for them. He also indicated that often the faith of poor people was much stronger than that of rich people.
Jesus loved life
Jesus loved life and wanted it to be fulfilling and meaningful. Many of the teachings of Jesus centre around parables of parties and enjoyment. It is wrong to say that Jesus was only concerned with heaven because he had much to say about life now. He did teach that earthly life was a time to get ready for heaven.
It's what is on the inside that counts not what is on the outside
Jesus wanted people to understand that it is not what a person looks like that is important but what is in a persons heart. We should look beyond the obvious to find the real heart of a person.
Loving money is sure way to misery
Jesus taught that whilst money can be used for good things it is major source of distraction for those who love it. We should learn to love God more than money.
What do we do when we get things wrong or other people hurt us (on to the next page) ?
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