Neighbors

As a kid growing up in a farm community neighbors were kind of a big deal to me. Back then if you saw your neighbor driving cows down the road you would stop and help. They would do the same. It’s just what we did. It was the neighborly thing to do. Last night I was reading in Luke chapter 10. An expert in the law, which would have been the Mosaic law from the Old Testament, was questioning Jesus. He asked what the greatest commandment was. Jesus asked him which he thought it was. He answered to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind; and to love your neighbor as yourself. Jesus said he had answered correctly. The man then asked Jesus who is our neighbor? Jesus then told a story of a man who was seriously injured by some robbers. One of the religious leaders passed by and saw the man laying on the road and passed by him on the other side. A priest also did the same thing. A Samaritan walked by him and had compassion for the stranger and bandaged up his wounds and put him on his donkey and took him to an inn. He continued to care for him until he had to go. He gave the innkeeper some money and told him to take care of him till he was able to go on his own and he would come back and pay whatever expenses he needed extra. Jesus then ask who was the injured mans neighbor? The man said the Samaritan. It’s easy to stop and help out folks we know and love isn’t it? But what about a stranger? The Samaritans were hated by many in those days and the stranger was likely to be someone who hated him but the Samaritan man put his differences aside and helped the man anyway. Jesus is making a point to us here. Anyone who is his creation that is in need is our neighbor. Yes even our enemy might be our neighbor!! To walk by on the other side and do nothing is sinful!! In Matthew 25:40 It says if you see someone hungry feed them. If they are thirsty give them a drink and so on. Jesus said whatever you do to the least of these you have done to me!! How we treat people says a lot about how we feel toward God. If we don’t care for our “neighbors” then we must not care about God and his creation. Dear God, help us to treat your creation as our neighbors. Help us to never walk on the other side of the road when we see someone in need!!