Matthew 22:3939And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. (Matthew 22:39); Matthew 19:1919Honor thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. (Matthew 19:19); Mark 12:3333And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbor as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. (Mark 12:33);
Galatians 5:1414For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. (Galatians 5:14); James 2:88If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, ye do well: (James 2:8); Luke 10:2727And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself. (Luke 10:27); Romans 13:99For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. (Romans 13:9)
You may have heard of the boy whose home was in a wood. One day he thought he heard the voice of another boy not far off. He shouted, “Hallo, there!”
The voice shouted back, “Hallo, there!”
He did not know that it was the echo of his own voice, and he shouted again, “You are a mean boy!”
Again the cry came back, “You are a mean boy!”
After some more of the same kind of thing he went into the house and told his mother that there was a bad boy in the wood. His mother, who understood how it was, said to him, “Oh, no! You speak kindly to him, and see if he does not speak kindly to you.”
He went to the wood again and shouted, “Hallo, there!”
“Hallo, there!”
“You are a good boy.”
Of course the reply came, “You are a good boy.”
“I love you.”
“I love you,” said the other voice.
This little story explains the secret of the whole thing. Some of you perhaps think you have bad and disagreeable neighbors; most likely the trouble is with yourself. If you love your neighbors they may well love you. Love begets love.