Who Is My Neighbor?
I’m reminded of a missionary trip my mom took to Africa back in the day. She fell sick while there and no one would take her to the airport. Somehow, she made her way to the airport, and fortunately there was a plane destined for the states. If the authorities found out she was sick they would never have allowed her to leave Africa with malaria, which she didn’t realize she had. As she sat waiting for the plane to arrive, she prayed, “God give me strength to get stateside. Lord please don’t let me die in Africa, my children won’t know where I am.”
God heard her prayer. A stately gentleman saw her hunched over on the airport bench. He approached her and asked, “Momma, are you all, right?” She told him, “I am so sick, but I must get home to my children in American.” She didn’t know that kind man who took her to a hotel, paid for her food and keep, and made sure she was back to the airport in time for her flight. She landed in New York where we found her safe in a Jamaican Hospital. As my mom related the story of the kind man, she added she won’t know who this man is until she meets him in heaven.
This story is a perfect example of the parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:25-37. A lawyer asks Jesus how to inherit eternal life. Jesus responds with the command to love God and his neighbor. The lawyer then asks who his neighbor is, and Jesus tells the story of a compassionate Samaritan who helps a wounded man. The theological message is that the image of God is reflected by the one who shows compassion and mercy.
We oftentimes fail to think in terms of OUR NEIGHBOR. According to the Bible, our neighbor is every person who needs our help, every soul who is wounded and bruised by the adversary, and everyone who is the property of God. Our neighbor is that person God calls us to love despite our differences of opinions and life choices. The Old Testament word for neighbor is a noun that means friend, companion, fellow, or simply another person. Scripture teaches us to love our neighbors, our enemies, our friends, and our siblings in Christ.
God has called us to realize that all humanity has value. Why? Because we are all created in His image; we feel, we have emotions, we cry when hurt. When God created Adam and Eve, they became a living soul. Your appetites, ambitions, thoughts, and motivations are what makes you who you are. As C. S. Lewis puts it “You do not have a soul. You are a Soul. You have a body.”
God heard her prayer. A stately gentleman saw her hunched over on the airport bench. He approached her and asked, “Momma, are you all, right?” She told him, “I am so sick, but I must get home to my children in American.” She didn’t know that kind man who took her to a hotel, paid for her food and keep, and made sure she was back to the airport in time for her flight. She landed in New York where we found her safe in a Jamaican Hospital. As my mom related the story of the kind man, she added she won’t know who this man is until she meets him in heaven.
This story is a perfect example of the parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:25-37. A lawyer asks Jesus how to inherit eternal life. Jesus responds with the command to love God and his neighbor. The lawyer then asks who his neighbor is, and Jesus tells the story of a compassionate Samaritan who helps a wounded man. The theological message is that the image of God is reflected by the one who shows compassion and mercy.
We oftentimes fail to think in terms of OUR NEIGHBOR. According to the Bible, our neighbor is every person who needs our help, every soul who is wounded and bruised by the adversary, and everyone who is the property of God. Our neighbor is that person God calls us to love despite our differences of opinions and life choices. The Old Testament word for neighbor is a noun that means friend, companion, fellow, or simply another person. Scripture teaches us to love our neighbors, our enemies, our friends, and our siblings in Christ.
God has called us to realize that all humanity has value. Why? Because we are all created in His image; we feel, we have emotions, we cry when hurt. When God created Adam and Eve, they became a living soul. Your appetites, ambitions, thoughts, and motivations are what makes you who you are. As C. S. Lewis puts it “You do not have a soul. You are a Soul. You have a body.”