Who Is My Neighbor?
What’s on your heart? According to Proverbs 4:23, “Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life.” When God called Pastor Pete to minister His Word and to pastor God’s flock, God told him, “Preach the word and let the chips fall where they may.”
Our calling is to love God’s people with with the love of God. This is not a worldly kind of love. This is God’s unconditional love according to the Holy Spirit that dwells in us. God honors his word in us when we’re obedient to his calling according to his word of truth.
The world did not see the global pandemic coming. Our foresight in the year 2020 was not 20-20. However this is all part of God’s plan. From God’s perspective, the Corona Virus was not a pandemic. Instead it was part of His Plan-Demic. Regardless of the panic, pandemonium and pandemics of this world, our Christian calling is to be faithful to the calling to which we have been called…to be faithful to his word. As Oswald Chambers said, “When the crisis comes, and courage is required, God expects his men to have such confidence in him, that they will be the reliable ones.”
When our life is over and our time on earth is done, the question will be, “were you faithful to His word?” Despite the cares of this world, Peter said, “cast all your cares upon Him, for He careth for you.”
The parable of the Good Samaritan is a message of encouragement. God himself is the God of all comfort. According to Luke 10 beginning in verse 25:
25. And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
26. He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?
27. And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.
28. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.
29. But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?
30. And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
31. And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
32. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.
33. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,
34. And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
35. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.
36. Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?
37. And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.”
The lawyer came to Jesus with the right question but with the wrong motive. The right question is “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” The lawyer’s second question revealed his wrong motive, “Who is my neighbor?”
Salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. We’re called to love our neighbors as ourselves regardless of whether we agree or disagree with their “religious beliefs.” When people are ignorant of the truth of the Word of God, they cannot follow the will of God. The people of this world are not our enemy. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against spiritual wickedness from on high. The battle is for the hearts and minds of those whom God has called. As sowers of the seed of God’s word, he’s called us to sow the seed regardless of the ground on which it falls. The types of ground in the parable of the sower represent the receptiveness of the hearts of men.
A good neighbor shows mercy and compassion on those who are beaten down and wounded by the cares of this world. Our responsibility is to sow the seed of the word of God and to pray for the hearts of those upon which the word falls.
The lawyer’s first question was “what must I do to inherit eternal life.” Jesus answered this question with another question, “you’re a lawyer who studied the law of God. How do you read the law?” The lawyer answered, “Thou shalt love the lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul and with all thy mind. And the second is like unto it, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thy self.” Jesus said, “That’s the right answer. Do these things and you shall live.”
The lawyer’s second question was “who is my neighbor?” This question revealed that he had the wrong motive. The lawyer thought that a “neighbor” referred to the people that were like him. He thought that he and others like him could justify themselves by their own self-goodness.
The parable of the Good Samaritan, is Jesus’ illustration to answer the lawyer’s question, “who is my neighbor.” The Jews hated the Samaritans. They considered the Samaritans half-breeds who had interbred with pagan heathens. In contrast, the lawyer thought that he was righteous for keeping the Old Testament law. He thought that he was required to keep himself pure by keeping his distance from Samaritans and other non-Jews. In every culture there are ingrained prejudices. The culture indoctrinates the so-called “politically correct” to hate what the culture identifies as “enemies.” The lawyer, a politically correct proud Jew, thought that Samaritans were enemies. He could not conceive of a hated Samaritan as his neighbor.
In this parable, a man was on the road descending from Jerusalem to Jericho. On the highway, he was attacked by robbers who stripped him of his worldly possessions, and left him for dead.
A priest and a Levite, although they were “professional clergy,” called to minister to God’s people, had avoided the dying man. They both “passed by on the other side of the road, going out of their way to keep their distance.
The Samaritan when he passed by felt compassion for the man who had been robbed and left for dead. The Samaritan poured ointment on the beaten man’s wounds, bandaged him, put him on his beast of burden, and took him to an inn. He gave the innkeeper enough money to attend to his wounds and his medical needs. He said, whatever it costs to take care of him, I will repay you.
God calls us to challenge our preconceptions. We’re challenged every day to pray for our so-called enemies. When we receive the power of the Holy Spirit, we understand what it means to forgive the unforgivable and to love the unloveable. For we ourselves were unforgivable and unloveable and judged guilty before Jesus Christ intervened on our behalf. Like Jesus died for our sins, we must crucify our prejudices and hatred of those we consider our enemies. We have to die to self and our own so-called self righteousness in order to live for our Lord Jesus Christ and manifest His righteous of Christ in us.
Jesus had said, if my word abides in you and you abide in me, then you shall bear much fruit. The root word for the word neighbor is “nigh” or “near.” To be a good neighbor to others, we must first position our hearts in close proximity with our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus had said, “In that ye have done it unto the least of these, my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” When we position our hearts inside of God’s will, then God will work in you to will and to do of His good pleasure. Then when we intercede for others, God can intervene through His son, for there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.
Only Jesus Christ can balance grace and truth. Jesus Christ holds perfect justice and perfect mercy side by side. According to 2 Timothy we’re called to gently correct those who have been called to the knowledge of the truth. We’re to have compassion on those who are taken captive by the devil and his worldly doctrines against their will. Pete’s wife Suzan taught him this truth as one of her life mottos — “I’d rather be loving than right.” She understood that according to 1 Peter 4:8, Love covers a multitude of sins.
Jesus said love your enemies. He said blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute you and say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. We’ve been called to a higher standard, to die to self in order to live for him. The Apostle Paul said, be not drunk with wine, but be ye filled with the Holy Spirit. When we show God’s love, compassion and mercy to our neighbors whom God has placed in our close proximity, then it is Christ’s heart behind our heart, his compassion behind our compassion, and his mercy behind our mercy. When we deliver God’s compassion, love and mercy to a neighbor dead in trespasses and sins, then we also will be good Samaritans. As Jesus said to the lawyer, “go and do thou likewise….”
That we may live to the praise of the glory of His grace!
Your brother in Christ,
Michael
