| Be a Neighbour |
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Luke 10:29-30, 36-37 (GNB)
But the teacher of the Law wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "Who is my neighbor?" Jesus answered, "There was once a man who was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho when robbers attacked him, …. *And Jesus concluded, "In your opinion, which one of these three acted like a neighbor toward the man attacked by the robbers?" The teacher of the Law answered, "The one who was kind to him." Jesus replied, "You go, then, and do the same."
But the teacher of the Law wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "Who is my neighbor?" Jesus answered, "There was once a man who was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho when robbers attacked him, …. *And Jesus concluded, "In your opinion, which one of these three acted like a neighbor toward the man attacked by the robbers?" The teacher of the Law answered, "The one who was kind to him." Jesus replied, "You go, then, and do the same."
In our text above, a teacher of the Law asked Jesus to define who his neighbor is; but instead of telling him who his neighbor is, Jesus instructed him to go and be a neighbor to others. The teacher of the Law was asking this question based on God's commandment for us to love our neighbors as ourselves. Jesus' response reflects the fact that to obey this commandment, we are to consider who within our circle of influence we can be a neighbor to. Christ implores us to be look for people who we can show love to and as such, be their neighbors; not the other way round.When you are in pain or distress, you express your love for yourself by urgently seeking a way out of the negative condition. That is how we are to treat others, i.e., look for every way possible to help them out of every negative condition they may have found themselves in. It is possible that the reason why the Levite and Priest passed by the other side after noticing the wounded man was because they realized that he was unrelated to them and as such, felt it unnecessary to offer any assistance.
In the Good News Bible, Matthew 5:46 says, why should God reward you if you love only the people who love you? Even the tax collectors do that! Many people only offer assistance to those that they know will be able to repay them in some way. Do not be like the Levite, Priest or the teacher of the Law who asked the question. Do not be more concerned about who will be a neighbor to you. Be more concerned about who you can be a neighbor to.
PRAYER FOCUS: Tell God that you want to be a neighbor to others today. Receive His grace to care, love and show concern to others.
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