I am not me without you, and you are not you without me. You and I are intertwined within a fundamentally relational existence. THAT is what it means to be a person. While I have pondered this concept independently, I started crying tears of joy when my professor recently expressed it formally in my theology class, Encountering the New Testament.

My professor told us about the etymology of the word, “person.” It is derived from the Greek word “prosōpon,” which can be defined as “face” or “mask,” in reference to the character masks worn by classical theater actors. This tells us that a person is a relational concept. One does not wear a mask in isolation from others. One’s mask is for others to gaze upon.

In the theological sense, the word “prosōpon” describes the idea of the divine being turned toward mankind. It speaks to how God looks at us. More importantly, though, it can also be used to express the “encounter of each of us … face to face.” These “face to face” encounters demand from us a relational consideration in our each and every action, and in our each and every word. Jesus’ concept of “love your neighbor” speaks directly to this.

To love our neighbor fully, we must consider our relational existence with one other. This consideration requires us to understand that we are each in our own miniature universe with sorrows, joys, frustrations, jubilees, disappointments and dreams.

To “love your neighbor” is to love your neighbor in spite of anything and everything. I am not saying this is easy or simple. Despite my aspirations to become more Christ-like, I struggle with this. The world can be an ugly place. But, it is only through a constant battle with myself that I will learn to love like Jesus does, and seeing others in the relational sense is an imperative first step toward achieving this. I choose to take these steps, to extend my vision to see others from a place of love.