And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?” So he answered and said, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’” And He said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.” (Luke 10:25-28)
Not a very bright idea to test the Teacher, who knows everything! But when people make the mistake of thinking that Jesus was just a man and not realizing that He is the Son of Man and Son of God, and the Word of God in the flesh, then these kinds of mistakes are bound to happen. But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” (John 10:29) Well, he couldn't leave well enough alone, which is fine. A mocker seeks wisdom and never finds it, but knowledge comes easily to those with understanding. (Proverbs 14:6 NLT)
Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. (John 10:30-32) The Jewish religious leaders had justified not helping or associating with certain groups and races of people, like the Samaritans by classifying "neighbors" as only "brethren", or full-breed Jews. Jesus is very wisely explaining to them the error of their belief, by using of all examples a Samaritan as the hero of the story.
But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’ So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?” And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.” (Luke 10:33-37)
There are so many lessons to take away from this story. First, the definition of neighbor is anyone we come in contact with. Every human being is our neighbor, and should be treated with respect because we all were created by God. Now with that being said, we can justify and come up with some pretty good reasons why we shouldn't treat all people with respect, just like the Jewish religious leaders did. But For there is no respect of persons with God. (Romans 2:11 KJV) Nor does He regard the rich more than the poor; For they are all the work of His hands. (Job 34:19) “In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him. (Acts 10:34-35)
Lastly, we are to help our neighbors. As Christians, many times we like to tell people the Word of God and feel we've done what God wants us to do. Being a Christian is being more than just religious. Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. (James 2:17) We have to allow ourselves to be used to God; Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:16) Even if we don't mention the name God, people will be moved by what we do to help them, and they won't understand why we're doing it because it's not natural. That's when we'll have the opportunity to ...bear witness of the Light. (John 1:8) If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well; (James 2:8) Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. (Romans 13:10)
No comments:
Post a Comment