Neighbors

Good Morning!

Norma and I have good neighbors. It seems we have always had good neighbors. Today we have Emery to our north, Cody and Marquee to our south, and the Douglas family to our west. Our neighborhood is a diverse grouping of people of different races and cultures and faiths. But we seem to all get along and that makes life good. We know that we can call upon each other in time of need. It is a good feeling.

Luke 10:25-29 (English Standard Version)
The Parable of the Good Samaritan

25 And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" 26He said to him, "What is written in the Law? How do you read it?" 27And he answered, "You shall 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 your neighbor as yourself." 28And he said to him, "You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live."
29But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"

The lawyer seemed to have a problem understanding who his neighbor was. Or, at least, he didn’t want to know who his neighbor was. I am certain most of you already know the rest of the illustration that Jesus gave to this lawyer. You will remember that a Jew headed from Jerusalem to Jericho got robbed and beaten and left for dead. Two of his fellow Jews – one a priest, another a Levite – saw him but chose not to help him. No, it was one of those Samaritan “dogs” – a half-breed – who came to the Jew’s aid. And not only did the Samaritan clean him up and attend to the Jew’s wounds, he also took him to a place where he could recover – and PAID FOR THE WOUNDED MAN’S CARE! Instead of harboring resentment and anger over the way he had been treated, the Samaritan went out of his way to show love to his “neighbor”.

One of the tragedies of our time in history is the resentment that seems to be prevalent in our culture. We – all of us – seem to harbor some form of wounds that have been inflicted in the past or are supposedly are going on today.

So, who is my neighbor, Lord?

Is my neighbor the young black man who saunters down the street with “pants on the ground”?

Yes.

Is my neighbor a Muslim who thinks so very differently from me?

Yes.

Is my neighbor the person who has adopted the gay lifestyle?

Yes.

Is my neighbor a person who is politically liberal (or conservative)?

Yes.

All of these are my neighbors – people I should recognize and care about if I am to live to the standard of “love your neighbors as yourself”. Until I see people who are different as being worthy of love, I am wasting my time attempting to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with them. I have nothing invested. I am like the priest or the Levite who sees a need but chooses to cross over the road. But when I reach out to bind the wounds – whatever they may be – and make an investment of time and energy in my neighbor, then the message of Jesus becomes real to all. And to be able to reach out, I must overcome the fear, the anxiety, the prejudice I have in my heart. How can I do this? I can only do this when I allow God to let me see my neighbors through His eyes.

Norma update: Gastric tube is out – and she had a clear liquid diet last night – which she seemed to tolerate well. So far there has been no need for a test – and the blockage seems to be going away. She is probably a day or two away from coming home – so thank you again for your fervent prayers on our behalf.

Agape’

Mr. Jim