The Apostle Paul was the author of much of the New Testament in the Bible. He wrote 13 books of the New Testament if Hebrews is not counted, which some scholars think he could have been the author of. The book of Galatians talks a lot about what saves a person, which is by grace through faith in Jesus rather than following a set of rules or traditions.

Galatians 5:14 is, in some ways, the culmination of chapter five. It reads, “For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” As Christians, we are not saved by fulfilling or following the law perfectly. On the contrary, we also are not free to do whatever we want. Because we have been saved in Christ, we are now free. We are free from trying to earn our own salvation, something that we would never be able to do without Jesus. We should use that freedom to love and serve others. 

Loving your neighbor is something that Jesus not only taught his disciples and followers, but also something He was the perfect example of. We are called to do the same. We are called to love our neighbor and pray for those who persecute us. Don’t feel like you have to follow certain rules well enough to be saved. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. We are not called to love for the reason of earning our salvation; we are called to love because we have already been saved by Jesus, and He first loved us.

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