The Good Neighbor.
In Luke 10, we read a story that we have heard since we were kids, the Good Samaritan. It is a story that can encompass a lot of lessons learned throughout life. If you haven’t read the story or maybe haven’t read it as an adult…..take a moment to read it:
” And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” And he answered, “You shall 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 your neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.” But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.” – Luke 10:25-37
It’s a fascinating story when you really dig into the content. First off, Jesus, being a master story/parable communicator, finds a man that is looking to catch him off guard and/or trick him into saying something that the Pharisee’s could use to arrest him, so Jesus uses a story to answer his question. Secondly, the content of the story revealed a glaring piece to not only the social status/structure, but also the image that some of these people that everyone would have known, had to the public. Lastly, Jesus uses a kind of a dark horse character in the end to illustrate the point of the story.
This story, as much as it is about Jesus teaching about the two greatest commandments of the 10, but he also calls those that follow Him, to a goal in life:
to be The Good Neighbor.
That might look different for all of us. It might literally mean the person that lives right next store to you, in all reality those neighbors should be on your heart all the time, but it could also be someone that lives around the corner or up the street or around the block or in a different apartment building. It could be someone that lives in a completely different area.
The thing about this story Jesus tells, is that it is in a random spot on the side of a dangerous road where this outside of the time, shows what it means to really show mercy to someone. The Good Samaritan in this case, was The Good Neighbor.
The question of our day, is will you be The Good Neighbor?
John 13, gives us another example of what Jesus means by loving and being a good neighbor. In the upper room, before passover we see Jesus take the place of a servant, by bending down with a basin or water and a towel to wash his disciples feet. This was the role of typically a servant of the house to clean the guest’s feet, not the person sitting at the head of the table. But Jesus does this and then he looks at his disciples and says:
” When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. ” – John 13:12-17
Even as Lord and Teacher and Rabbi and Messiah and King….Jesus showed us what it means to be The Good Neighbor.
A few moments later, Jesus also commands his disciples to love one another and those around you just like Jesus loves them and that BY THAT LOVE SHOWN, people will know you are disciple of Jesus.
As people, we have a hard time looking past our own situations and problems and seasons and tasks and home to-do lists and schedules and the rest of the things that keep us bogged down. What if as a group of people that love and follow Jesus, we look to be The Good Neighbor? Not just to our own neighborhood, but the one’s that need their lawns mowed or that need help moving or need help with getting a dresser up some stairs??
We have the ability and the time, we just need to think about re-prioritizing that time.
If you would like to stay in touch with our Local Outreach opportunities — BE THE GOOD NEIGHBOR — click that link, it might bring you an experience that you don’t expect.
When we allow God to work in our lives and then also through our lives……we can also be The Good Neighbor.