So, one day, while Jesus was teaching, a guy stood up in the crowd and asked, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
Jesus’ first reply: “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?”
The man 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.” (Rough translation of Luke 10:25-28)
Right answer!!! Ding! Ding! Ding!!
But get the next part of his verse:
“But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” (Luke 10:29, ESV)
Jesus answered by telling the parable of the Good Samaritan. (Luke 10:30-37)
In the context of this parable, we see Jesus define "your neighbor" as anyone you come in contact with during your daily life—anyone in your sphere of influence. This begins with the inner circle of your immediate family and moves out to your extended family. It includes the people who live near you, who work near you, the people you carpool with to work or school, your friends and your enemies, the other parents at your children's school or on their sports team, the woman at the grocery store, the guy at the restaurant. Basically, anyone that you encounter during your day is your neighbor, and you are responsible for showing love to them.
But how can you show love to that many people?
Start by doing what Jesus said and treating people how you would want to be treated.
Take this parable, for example. In this story, the man had an obvious need. He'd just experienced a crisis—he'd been beaten, stripped of everything, including his clothes, and left by the side of the road for dead. At that moment, he needed safety and medical help. In today's terms, he needed someone to call 911. He required urgent, practical care.
Yet, the first two people who walked by did nothing. They just ignored the situation and went on with their own lives. Only the good Samaritan stopped, went out of his way, and showed the man love by meeting his practical needs.
As followers of God, we need to realize that part of our calling is to follow the good Samaritan's example and show love to people by meeting their practical needs. When we encounter someone with an obvious need, we should do all we can to meet it.
Part of this involves being involved in community outreaches that meet the needs of those in desperate situations. As Christians, we need to donate our time and finances so that people can see the love of God practically demonstrated to the most hurting and helpless among us.
And yet, as important as charity work is, it doesn't fully encompass our call to meet the practical needs of those around us. Instead, I believe that as Christians, we also need to be aware of the practical needs of the people around us and find a way to demonstrate God's love to them by meeting their needs.
For instance, does someone need a ride to the hospital or someone to support them through a difficult doctor's appointment?
Would a family appreciate a home-cooked meal during a crisis or grief?
Could you cut the grass for the older woman across the street who is struggling with pain?
Does a young couple need a few hours to themselves but can't afford a babysitter?
Does a young man without a father need a mentor willing to shoot hoops and just listen?
Ultimately, how do you respond when the Holy Spirit points someone out who has an obvious need or allows someone to cross your path who needs help?
Do you understand that as a Christian, you are called to show love by helping to meet that need no matter what it costs you personally?
Are you willing to do whatever it takes to answer that call?
These are hard questions, but they are questions that we all need to ask ourselves from time to time because it is just so easy to fall into the trap of minding your own business. (Really, that's what the priest and the Temple assistant did—they kept walking and stayed out of it while someone's real need went unmet.) It's easy to get so busy, so wrapped up in ourselves and our problems, that we forget that the central part of our calling is to love others and show them God's love.
From time to time, even the most well-meaning Christians must ask themselves, "Am I listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit when He shows me a practical need that I can meet? Am I responding in obedience? How can I do better?"
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