“Who is my Neighbor?”
In Luke 10 we are told the story of a man. A man who had fallen into some trouble. This man was beaten, stripped, and robbed. He was then left half dead on the side of the road.
It so happened a priest came by. A priest who is supposed to be God's servant. We know that God is love and in Him is no darkness. This priest did not stop and help, instead he passed by on the other side!
Let's not forget who Jesus is talking to here. He is speaking with a lawyer, one who is to be well versed in the law. Notice he had no trouble quoting the commandments when asked by the Lord. And yet he sought to justify the injustice in his heart by asking, "who is my neighbor"?
Christ gave the perfect answer, as He always does! He does not stop the story at the priest's reaction though, he speaks of another man who should be godly, a Levite who ignored the injured man!
We may think to ourselves, how callous must these men have been. Those evil old Jewish leaders, always with hardened hearts and hypocritical ways, but wait before we get too carried away with our judgment, perhaps we should look at ourselves!
What kind of neighbors are we? Who is our neighbor? Do we seek to justify ourselves as this lawyer did? Do we ignore the spiritual, emotional, and physical needs we see from those we encounter daily?
We must be willing to accept that those we encounter daily, are our neighbors and help them as we have opportunity. We have the responsibility to see to the needs of those around us as we have the means to do so.
When this lawyer asked “Who is my neighbor he sought to deflect the command and neglect his responsibility. Let us take care and realize that everyone that is around us in our daily lives are our neighbors. That might be a co-worker, classmate, or even someone we meet at the grocery store. Let us be prepared to aid others when it is appropriate to do so!
-David McNees
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