Who Is My Neighbor?

"But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, 'And who is my neighbor?' " - Luke 10:29 ESV

What a question. Mercy doesn't ask this question. Here is Jesus' answer.

"Jesus replied, 'A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, 'Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.' Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?' He said, 'The one who showed him mercy.' And Jesus said to him, 'You go, and do likewise.' " - Luke 10:30-37 ESV

Wow.

"...'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.' " - Luke 10:27b ESV

Who deserves respect?

Who is more important?

Jesus pointed to a man who was beaten and laying on the road to get this man to answer this question himself.

I am convicted more and more that it is what I do and not just what I talk about that is the measure of my impact on the world around me. I don't want to strive but maybe it would be good if I imagined bloody people laying on the side on the road more instead of having a fine-tuned sense of categorizing people as worthy or deserving based on appearances.

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