Love of Neighbor

There are some thoughts which require a proper essay: a thesis, demonstrated points under a thesis, research & citations, an amusing personal story, etc. However, I think some thoughts require so much as to only be spoken. Today I want to share one of those thoughts. Now, I do not intend to neglect my challenge to write a full essay a day. Today I want to submit myself to a thought which, I hope, always stays beyond the capture of my argumentative elaborations. Here is the thought.

People unfamiliar with the Christian story often wonder why every sin against one's neighbor, every act which flows from a fallen nature and extends harm to those other people in your world, is ultimately a sin committed against God. How can my sin against my neighbor also be a sin against my God? A good answer is: they bear His Image. To sin against your neighbor is to sin against an image of the God you are called to love. To deface a work of art is an offense against the artist. "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, how can he love God whom he has not seen?" One of the truest ways you love God is through loving your Neighbor. You love God & you love your Neighbor. You love God as God & your Neighbor as your Neighbor, but that 'and' between Love of God & Love of Neighbor is why to sin against (fail to properly love) your Neighbor is to sin against (fail to properly love) God.