DEVOTION – DAY 254

Luke 10:27-29 “Who Is My Neighbor?”

 

Luke 10:27-29 He 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, and love your neighbor as yourself.” “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

 

These verses are part of an exchange between Jesus and an expert of the Law of Moses who wanted to test Jesus. He began by asking Jesus what he must do in order to have eternal life. Jesus replied with a question, “What does the Scriptures say?” The expert of the Law replied that the Scriptures taught that total devotion to God and showing neighborly love was required. To the expert of the Law, the answer was obviously one he knew, so to gain credibility, he asked Jesus for an interpretation. In other words, the expert was asking, “But who is my neighbor? Who deserves my neighborly love?” In reply, Jesus gave the parable of the Good Samaritan.

 

We are sometimes like this expert of the Law. We know we should show brotherly love to others – to love others as ourselves. But we allow our prejudices and preferences to determine whom we want to show our love to. We show love to those who love us back. We love people who are often like us. People from the same background, and have the same likes and dislikes as we do. But the love that the Bible teaches is like the love of Christ. It is a love that is unconditional. It is loving people we would not normally want to mix with. Jesus gave an example in His parable of the Good Samaritan. The Samaritan was an outcast that Jews would want to avoid. In the parable, the Jewish priest and the Levite both failed to stop to help their fellow Jew who had been robbed. It was the Samaritan outcast who stopped and showed brotherly love to the one in need. Jesus used this parable to show that the love His followers should show to others must not have any boundaries and the love should be unconditional.

 

A man was being exploited by his employer. He knew it was better to resign and instead make a living on his own. But in order to do so, he needed a set of tools. Without the tools and some transport, he would be unable to work independently. His plight was brought to our attention. Even though we did not know him well, help was provided to get him started. The parable of the Good Samaritan reminded us that we are to show love to others without boundaries or conditions.

 

Let us pray: Heavenly Father, thank you for loving us unconditionally and teaching us to love others in the same way. Please help us to love you wholeheartedly and to love others as ourselves. In the precious name of the Lord Jesus we pray. Amen.

 

Questions

  1. How do you show total devotion to God? Discuss.
  2. How do you show love to others as yourselves? Discuss.
  3. Why do you think Jesus wants us to love others as ourselves? Discuss.