Do You Really Love Your Neighbor?

When we think of neighbors, we tend to think of people we live close to.  Possibly on the same street or in the same neighborhood.  We may even think of co-workers or someone that is generally close to us or within our geographic location.  Jesus says in Mark 12:30-31, Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.  The second is this; Love your neighbor as yourself.  There is no commandment greater than these.  The question that remains is, “who is my neighbor?” 

 ²⁵On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

 ²⁶“What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”

 ²⁷He 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.’”

 ²⁸“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”

 ²⁹But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

 ³⁰In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. ³¹A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. ³²So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. ³³But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. ³⁴He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. ³⁵The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

 ³⁶“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

 ³⁷The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
      Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

Jesus answers the question “who is my neighbor” by giving a parable.  In the parable there is a man who has been left for dead and everyone who sees him basically ignores him except for one man.  The Samaritan man made sure the man who was left for dead was taken care of.  How often do we find ourselves in a situation where ignore the needs of someone else?  Whether it’s a struggling family member or friend to a homeless person on the street.  We are called to love our neighbors as ourselves.  That is a huge calling.  Especially when our neighbor can be some complete stranger we have never seen before and may probably never see again.  How do we manage to love a complete stranger in this way? 

I believe it’s through studying Jesus.  Jesus had this type of heart for everyone.  I know none of us are Jesus and never will be perfect like him, but I have realized the more I study his life and read what he has done and the type of impact he had on others, the more I see myself changing in ways that make me want to do as he did.  It’s easy to go through life selfishly wanting more and more for myself and not caring about the next man or woman, but it takes a great effort to share what you have whether it’s a little or a lot with others.  Especially when it’s with someone we don’t even know.

The recent events in Haiti have millions of people willing to give their time and/or money to help those affected such a tragic situation.  The call for help has been heard by people all over the world and many people are responding with donations of things they have.  I don’t want to take anything away from the horrifying situation that has happened in Haiti, but we have tragic situations go on like this every day here in our own communities.  It may not be on a massive scale as the situation in Haiti, but there are catastrophic events in the lives of many people right where you live.  We need to be reaching out to these people offering the same type of help.  People that have lost jobs, family members, spouses and friends are right in your community.  Some of these people have no idea how they will make it to the next day.  We have to open our eyes and be aware of what’s going on. 

Lending a hand in times of need is not only good to do; it is what we are called to do by God.  Love your neighbor as yourself and give them nothing less than you would respect in return no matter if they give it to you or not.  Remember you are responsible for your own salvation so do what God wants you to do.

Thanks for reading.

DJR

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