Be A Good Neighbor
Be A Good Neighbor
Meet my good neighbors Jerry and Debbie. It had rained the previous night and the water from our roof was splashing and pouring over our walls instead of draining out through the gutter. I needed to climb the roof to remove the debris that had blocked the gutter. I needed a longer ladder than what I had. I went to Jerry and Debbie to borrow theirs. The ladder was long and heavy. Jerry and Debbie looked at ladder and looked at me and had pity on me and offered to help. They helped carry the ladder, raise it up and held it for me to climb up and remove the leaves that blocked my gutter. They even went the extra mile because I had to do the front and the back of the house. Debbie, prior to my unscheduled solicitation for ladder was about to leave for an errand but she had to delay her going. I was ever grateful to Jerry and Debbie. “Who is my neighbor?” A lawyer asked Jesus.
Luke 10:25-37
25On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" 26"What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?" 27He answered: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'[c]; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'[d]"
28"You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live."
29But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"
30In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. 35The next day he took out two silver coins[e] and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'
36"Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?" 37The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him." Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."
Here are some observations in addition to the ones you may have:
1. Notice the initial question of the lawyer, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Answer: Love your God and love your neighbor as yourself. Loving God means responding to God’s love He has already extended to us. It is very important that we do not misunderstand Jesus in the rest of His encounter with the lawyer. Having eternal life (knowing God and having God in us) is the work of grace. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from you yourselves it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2: 8). This is consistent with what Jesus had already said in this chapter Luke 10:22; “No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him”.
2. The lawyer ended up asking the real question that was on his mind. “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus answers by emphasizing that loving God also shows up in loving our neighbor. When we have eternal life, it must be evidenced by our love for our neighbors. “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do”(Ephesians 2:10). Let’s get it right. Good works does result to eternal life. Rather, the result of eternal life is good works. This is why we are still here on earth because when people see our good works, they give glory and praise to our Father in heaven.
3. Now that we got the heavy theology out of the way, “Who is really my neighbor?” Jesus is illustrating for us that whoever we come in contact with is our neighbor and not only those who live close to us. In fact, Jesus turns the question around. The important question is “Are my a good neighbor and how can I be a good neighbor?
4. Jesus has stretched the definition of our neighbor to include those we normally do not get along with. The Jews and the Samaritans did not get along. In addition, note that Jesus intentionally did not identify the race of the man who was mugged by the thieves. He said, “A man was going down” The point being that we really do not need to know a whole lot of information to help anyone? What we need is a changed heart in order to love God and love our neighbor. True love knows no national boundaries, color or ethnic origin. When the love of God is in us, it comes out the same way God applies His love – to all (“For God so loved the world that He gave His Son”). God loved the Jews but also the gentiles and so must we. We are confronted head-on with the race/tribal issue in this passage. In this election year, does it really matter the color of the next president of America? Before you answer, please ask God to reveal and examine what is in your heart. Let us continue to pray for the outcome of the election to God’s glory.
5. Expect God’s love from the unsuspecting. The lawyer who is Jewish was thinking Jesus was going to say that a Jew was the one who stopped to help the man in trouble. But rather, a “Samaritan” of all people? Often we think Christians are the only ones who do good things. Not really so. Many who do not confess and believe as we do also do good works and care. In fact I do not have clear evidence that my neighbors, Jerry and Debbie even go to Church or confess any faith but I have tasted God’s goodness through their help. Most times “the yet to believe” (I hate the word “unbelievers”) put us Christians to shame by out-doing us in good works. May God help us in doing good works. May we not be like the priest and the Levite in this parable who clearly should have been the ones to help the man in trouble but rather, they “passed by on the other side”. Let us not “pass by the other side” when we see people in need and we can help them through what God has provided us. We can even call others to join us to help.
6. Loving God and loving our neighbors will cost us something – our time, money, forgone or delayed destinations and much more (“I will reimburse you for any extra expenses you may have”). We may not even realize our own goal in the process of loving God and others. Notice that there are four levels of involvement in loving God and others. We are to love with – our heart, soul, strength and mind. Loving with our minds means we have to think of ways and become creative in our acts of love. It will not just happen ordinarily.
7. How do we put these in practice? Jesus says, “Go and do likewise”. Just do it. It starts with the process of allowing God’s love to be “poured into our hearts” then we can love God and others.
Who are you in contact with at home, work, school or wherever? Those people are your neighbor and please love him/her. Let’s become creative in our good works. Surprise a stranger or some one of another race/tribe. I have heard about people paying stranger’s bill in a restaurant. How about showing up at some ones door with a bag of food items? You may just be the answer to their prayer. Be a Good Samaritan. May God help us to love in words and in deeds. Amen.
Meet my good neighbors Jerry and Debbie. It had rained the previous night and the water from our roof was splashing and pouring over our walls instead of draining out through the gutter. I needed to climb the roof to remove the debris that had blocked the gutter. I needed a longer ladder than what I had. I went to Jerry and Debbie to borrow theirs. The ladder was long and heavy. Jerry and Debbie looked at ladder and looked at me and had pity on me and offered to help. They helped carry the ladder, raise it up and held it for me to climb up and remove the leaves that blocked my gutter. They even went the extra mile because I had to do the front and the back of the house. Debbie, prior to my unscheduled solicitation for ladder was about to leave for an errand but she had to delay her going. I was ever grateful to Jerry and Debbie. “Who is my neighbor?” A lawyer asked Jesus.
Luke 10:25-37
25On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" 26"What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?" 27He answered: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'[c]; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'[d]"
28"You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live."
29But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"
30In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. 35The next day he took out two silver coins[e] and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'
36"Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?" 37The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him." Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."
Here are some observations in addition to the ones you may have:
1. Notice the initial question of the lawyer, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Answer: Love your God and love your neighbor as yourself. Loving God means responding to God’s love He has already extended to us. It is very important that we do not misunderstand Jesus in the rest of His encounter with the lawyer. Having eternal life (knowing God and having God in us) is the work of grace. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from you yourselves it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2: 8). This is consistent with what Jesus had already said in this chapter Luke 10:22; “No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him”.
2. The lawyer ended up asking the real question that was on his mind. “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus answers by emphasizing that loving God also shows up in loving our neighbor. When we have eternal life, it must be evidenced by our love for our neighbors. “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do”(Ephesians 2:10). Let’s get it right. Good works does result to eternal life. Rather, the result of eternal life is good works. This is why we are still here on earth because when people see our good works, they give glory and praise to our Father in heaven.
3. Now that we got the heavy theology out of the way, “Who is really my neighbor?” Jesus is illustrating for us that whoever we come in contact with is our neighbor and not only those who live close to us. In fact, Jesus turns the question around. The important question is “Are my a good neighbor and how can I be a good neighbor?
4. Jesus has stretched the definition of our neighbor to include those we normally do not get along with. The Jews and the Samaritans did not get along. In addition, note that Jesus intentionally did not identify the race of the man who was mugged by the thieves. He said, “A man was going down” The point being that we really do not need to know a whole lot of information to help anyone? What we need is a changed heart in order to love God and love our neighbor. True love knows no national boundaries, color or ethnic origin. When the love of God is in us, it comes out the same way God applies His love – to all (“For God so loved the world that He gave His Son”). God loved the Jews but also the gentiles and so must we. We are confronted head-on with the race/tribal issue in this passage. In this election year, does it really matter the color of the next president of America? Before you answer, please ask God to reveal and examine what is in your heart. Let us continue to pray for the outcome of the election to God’s glory.
5. Expect God’s love from the unsuspecting. The lawyer who is Jewish was thinking Jesus was going to say that a Jew was the one who stopped to help the man in trouble. But rather, a “Samaritan” of all people? Often we think Christians are the only ones who do good things. Not really so. Many who do not confess and believe as we do also do good works and care. In fact I do not have clear evidence that my neighbors, Jerry and Debbie even go to Church or confess any faith but I have tasted God’s goodness through their help. Most times “the yet to believe” (I hate the word “unbelievers”) put us Christians to shame by out-doing us in good works. May God help us in doing good works. May we not be like the priest and the Levite in this parable who clearly should have been the ones to help the man in trouble but rather, they “passed by on the other side”. Let us not “pass by the other side” when we see people in need and we can help them through what God has provided us. We can even call others to join us to help.
6. Loving God and loving our neighbors will cost us something – our time, money, forgone or delayed destinations and much more (“I will reimburse you for any extra expenses you may have”). We may not even realize our own goal in the process of loving God and others. Notice that there are four levels of involvement in loving God and others. We are to love with – our heart, soul, strength and mind. Loving with our minds means we have to think of ways and become creative in our acts of love. It will not just happen ordinarily.
7. How do we put these in practice? Jesus says, “Go and do likewise”. Just do it. It starts with the process of allowing God’s love to be “poured into our hearts” then we can love God and others.
Who are you in contact with at home, work, school or wherever? Those people are your neighbor and please love him/her. Let’s become creative in our good works. Surprise a stranger or some one of another race/tribe. I have heard about people paying stranger’s bill in a restaurant. How about showing up at some ones door with a bag of food items? You may just be the answer to their prayer. Be a Good Samaritan. May God help us to love in words and in deeds. Amen.
Comments