“And who is my neighbor?” That was the question the lawyer posed after hearing Jesus’ response in Luke 10 concerning how one inherits eternal life. Jesus responds with the familiar parable of the good Samaritan in which He expands the lawyer’s outlook on loving and serving all people. It is interesting that Jesus immediately aligns how we love people with our eternal life. As salvation rests alone in faith in the completed work of Jesus on the cross, the way we love those around us—friends and enemies–is directly linked with that salvation. A changed heart inwardly should, and will, change how we live and love outwardly.
Our social landscape today is, to say the least, complicated. We can find a ring to jump into to fight whatever argumentative battle we feel like lacing up for. While there are moments to defend, argue, claim, speak, lecture, etc., we must not forget Jesus’ answer to who exactly our neighbors are and how we should not only treat them but love them well. If we think about it, our culture today is not really that different than the cultural context of Jesus’ parable.
The parable of the good Samaritan reminds us of a few amazing truths that should be embraced all the more in today’s culture. The lawyer in the story references the Shema—the Jewish prayer from the book of Deuteronomy—in order to question Jesus on His teachings of eternal life. Jesus gives provides the plot twist the lawyer wasn’t expecting; Jesus expands the lawyer’s view of who is his neighbor. He is forcing us as well to see this as more than a platitude that we acknowledge on a Sunday with a tipping of the theological cap but as a lifestyle we actually demonstrate on a Monday at work, or on a Thursday evening on social media, or on a Saturday at the sports fields.
In the parable, the priest and the Levite both move over on the other side of the road to avoid the Jewish traveler because it was just beneath their position to help. However, the Samaritan, who had every societal reason to pass by, instead stopped and loved his cultural “opponent.” G.K. Chesterton once said, “The duty towards humanity may often take the form of some choice which is personal or even pleasurable…But we have to love our neighbor because he is there — a much more alarming reason for a much more serious operation. He is the sample of humanity which is actually given us” (Heretics, chapter 14). Who is your neighbor? He or she is the person that God puts in front of you, whether physically or digitally. There is never an invaluable moment or relationship in God’s economy.
The Gospel calls us to embrace our neighbors regardless of differences. It is a good reminder to us all that the Gospel is bigger than the earthly things that get us riled up in the day-to-day. Jesus was such a great example in that while he taught, corrected, even rebuked, He still loved and served. Our faith falls empty and flat when we don’t love well. Let us choose to love. It makes the Gospel loud when it is spoken on the platform of grace and compassion. Let us remember that if we move over to pass someone on the other side of the road, we leave the lane that God has called us to run.
So let us run and live where God has us and serve those who God sends us. Within this resolve, people will know the beauty of Jesus, and we will get to experience the joy of being a good Kingdom neighbor.
Bee-Attitude
Blessed are those who love well for they will experience the joy of the Kingdom.
Allen Smith
Allen is the young adult pastor at First Baptist Church of Barnesville. He is a graduate of Gordon College and Mercer University. He is married to Jill, and they have two wonderful daughters. Allen gets the opportunity each week to lead an amazing group of young adults. Their young adult worship gatherings take place on Thursday evenings at 7:30 at the FBC Student/Young Adult building.
