As Yourself

Recently I was reading through Hebrews, and I found myself really struck by a few lines in chapter 13. Hebrews 13 isn’t a chapter I’ve given much thought to before. It’s a bit of a grab-bag, where it feels like the author’s throwing in a word or two on as many topics as he can before he runs out of paper to write on. But the wide range of topics is one reason I enjoyed it so much this go-round—it’s like reading a chapter in Proverbs that hits on twenty different subjects, but seven of them get you right between the eyes.

For instance, Hebrews 13:3: “Remember those in prison, as if you were there yourself. Remember also those being mistreated, as if you felt their pain in your own bodies.” (NLT) I’ve done a lot of ministry in prisons over the years, so this verse has always stood out to me, but I heard something in it this time that I never have before. Remember these people, the author exhorts, as if it were you. Give as much attention to those in prison as you’d give your own predicament if you were there. Feel the wounds of those who are mistreated as keenly as you’d feel it in your own bodies.

In other words, this verse is a call to love your neighbor as yourself (Lev 19:18; Mark 12:31).

It’s easy to hear that old, familiar adage without giving much thought to those two words on the end. But Hebrews doesn’t let us off the hook. It brings us face-to-face with the meaning of “as yourself.” What would you do about it if you were the one in prison? How would you respond if you were the one in pain? That is how you ought to respond to your neighbors in those circumstances. Put yourself in their shoes, and then take action like your life and well-being depended on it. Love them as yourself.

This verse offers us a model for how to apply this great commandment from Jesus. All you need to do is substitute different neighbors into the formula:

Remember those in nursing homes, as if you were there yourself.

Remember those in foster care, as if you were there yourself.

Remember those with depression, as if you felt their pain in your own bodies.

Those fighting cancer, as if you felt their sickness, uncertainty, and fear. Those in the grip of addiction, as if you faced the failure, shame, homelessness, and hopelessness they do. Those going through a divorce, those grieving the loss of a child or of a spouse, those in constant fear of racial discrimination, those whose communities have been leveled by tornadoes… The list could go on and on.

But each time, “as yourself” challenges us to imagine their hurts and needs, or to remember a time when we were in a similar situation, and then to love them in the ways we would hope for, if our situations were reversed.

Love them with the thoughtful acts of service and support, the healing words, and the steady presence you’d hope for, if it were you.

Love them as yourself.

Listen to this week's devotional right here: