Guiding Light!
Love your neighbor!
"Never seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD. Leviticus 19:18
Ever think about how many creative and often painful ways human beings differentiate themselves from one another? We do it by family, gender, generation, class, race, nationality, professional affiliation, ideology, religion, physical appearance, and intellect, and these categories only scratch the surface! It seems easier to divide than to connect, and modern history appears to demonstrate that. Our wars, our litigious ways, our competitiveness, and our tendency toward self-interest create distance in relationships. Instead, we need to find ways to draw together.
The God of the Bible put it plainly when he was teaching a generation of ex-slaves called the children of Israel a new way of living: "Love your neighbor," He said. More than that, "Love your neighbor in the way that you would love yourself." That's fine, they said, but who is my neighbor?
The idea of loving a neighbor is not a problem if one knows who the neighbor is. Loving a neighbor is relatively easy, especially if we can ascertain that my neighbors are my family or clan, the guy who lives next store, or at most, the people of my race and culture. But when the question was brought to Jesus, he blew it wide open.
He told the famous story of the Good Samaritan, about a man on his way to Jericho who was seriously mugged, left penniless and virtually lifeless in the ditch. Jesus then asked the listeners, "Who would see this man as a neighbor and do the neighborly thing?" Some highly religious and pious people walked by and made excuses saying, "He's not my neighbor. I'm busy doing more important things; he's not my kind; I'm not into rescue efforts."
But then a Samaritan came by. Now, the Jews to whom this story was being told would have shivered by this turn in the tale since the Samaritans were among their most hated enemies. And yet, you guessed it, the Samaritan turned out to be the model neighbor. He pulled the man from the ditch, dressed his wounds, brought him to a clinic, and paid for his medical care.
"Which of these chose to help as though he was the mugged man's neighbor," asked Jesus? The discomforted listeners had to grudgingly admit, "The one who showed mercy." "Go and do the same thing," Jesus directly concluded.
If being neighborly means providing a rescue for the wounded person in the ditch, then it implies being kind, respectful, engaging, and helpful to the person along the way who is not in extreme need. It's a lifestyle which breaks down dividing walls, creates connections, and seeks ways to be generous and loving. That's what God meant when he said, "Love your neighbor." And He does mean it!
For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: "Love your neighbor as yourself." Galatians 5:14
Heavenly Father, thank you for your words of instruction, thank you that you love us enough that provided a way for us to be with You in eternity. Help us Father to see one another as you see us, to love our neighbor, to care for our neighbor, to provide for our neighbor and to see everyone as our neighbor. It is our desire to please you Father, enable us Lord to serve and please you in all that we do. In Jesus Christ name we pray..........amen
In Christ's Service,
Kenny Millhouse
kenny@guidinglightministry.com
Guiding Light Ministry - an evangelistic outreach!
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