Walking together with God, at its core at least, is not that difficult to understand. When Jesus was asked God's greatest command, he tells them to love God and love People. "All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." (Matthew 22:40 NIV) When Jesus asks one of his disciples what they must do to inherit eternal life, they respond the same. Clearly this teaching was a the heart of Jesus' message. The devil, as they say, is in the details, though. The man couldn't leave well enough alone. He wanted to make sure he was justified in picking who he loved.
...he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an in and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii 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.' "Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?" The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him." Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise." (Luke 10:29-37 NIV)
Loving your neighbor is easy when we already love our neighbor. When it's inconvenient, though, is it really our neighbor? When we don't like them, maybe we can love them from a distance. When they don't like us, though, then they are definitely not our neighbor. Right?
Perhaps the most eye-opening revelation I ever learned was this: everyone is my neighbor. Whether a brother or sister in Christ, a non-believing friend, or a nemesis - every person is made in the image of God. I'm called to love every person, then, and even pray for those who persecute me. I cannot remove someone from the list of "neighbors" for any reason. I'm called to love them all.
How about you? Do you love your neighbor as yourself? Do you try to remove people from the category of "neighbor?" What do you need to do to make them a neighbor that you love?
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