Liz’s Morning Devotional: Scripture selected from Upper Room
June 24, 2023
Luke 10:25-29
25 A legal expert stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to gain eternal life?” 26 Jesus replied, “What is written in the Law? How do you interpret it?” 27 He responded, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.” 28 Jesus said to him, “You have answered correctly. Do this and you will live.” 29 But the legal expert wanted to prove that he was right, so he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
Good Morning, Love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength!
And who is our neighbor? This question challenged the people in Jesus' time and challenges us today. The number of neighbors you might have had in Jesus’ time might be a little more manageable than today's numbers. The number of people on the earth today is staggering, and to think that we are all brothers and sisters in Christ and that we are all neighbors is unfathomable.
Jesus' response to the questioner was the story of the Good Samaritan who cares for the beaten man on the side of the road after the priest and the Levite passed by him without giving aid. These words follow this story: 36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” 37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
We struggle with the love of our neighbors as ourselves because we want to attach qualifiers to this commandment. We are happy to provide aid and comfort to those we like or those who seem to live a similar lifestyle with our customs. We are distracted by the outer trappings of those who are different. We say to ourselves, “Why do they do that?” and “I don’t understand how anyone could look live that.”
How does Jesus define a neighbor? The neighbor is the one who gives mercy to the man in need. It is scary to apply those standards to ourselves. We are quick to say that we live in a different world, and it is not safe to venture too far out of our safe zones. LOVE THY NEIGHBOR!
Loving God, We thank you for Your blessings. We struggle with this simple command! Help us see with our hearts instead of with our eyes. We Thank You! In the name of Christ, we pray. Amen
Thought for the day: God knows no borders.
Love God! Love Thy Neighbor! Pastor Liz
Amen!