“You shall not see your brother's ox or his sheep going astray and ignore them. You shall take them back to your brother. And if he does not live near you and you do not know who he is, you shall bring it home to your house, and it shall stay with you until your brother seeks it. Then you shall restore it to him. And you shall do the same with his donkey or with his garment, or with any lost thing of your brother's, which he loses and you find; you may not ignore it.
Love/Treat Your Neighbor As Yourself
When Jesus was asked to summarize all the Law (a position of which is the above verses), Jesus summed it all up like this:
Matthew 22:37-40 (ESV Strong's)
And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
When we compare Jesus’ summary to the above verses we certainly see why the summary is accurate. Moses, in the above passage, is telling the nation how they should treat the property of their “neighbor.” If we have the opportunity to help our neighbor we are to do so. That is the summary of all that is written in the entire book of Deuteronomy. Loving God with all your heart and loving neighbor like we love ourselves, motivates us to want to care for our neighbors property. That type of love is what God is producing in our hearts. Note how Paul uses this thought to summarize justification:
Galatians 5:6 (ESV Strong's)
For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.
Love is not a feeling. It is an action that shows care and the well being of others to be more important than your own well being. That is the heart of God. He so cared about the world He sacrificed His son to die for their sins.
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