27 And answering, he said, 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. 28 And He said to him, You have answered right; do this and you shall live. 29 But he, willing to justify himself, said to Jesus, And who is my neighbor
Luke 10:27-29
But he, willing to justify himself… (v.29)
What is the point of questioning the Lord’s answer? What do we expect to get out of it? It seems irrational to rationalize with God. We cannot change an unchanging God, particularly if His ways and thoughts are not like ours.
The response of this man was to justify himself. In other words, he sought to make himself look good among others. By challenging the Master, he sought to bring His authority into question while making himself look good. Such an attitude leads to pride and problems; pride because we think more highly of ourselves than we should and problems because we are not looking to the Lord for our answers.
And who is my neighbor? (v.29)
A good Samaritan? Not just a Samaritan, I’d say, but a good Samaritan. With all of what Samaritans were to the Jews, Jesus used a Samaritan as an example of being a good neighbor. He shared from an unlikely source an example of what God expects of His people.
The truth is that this man had stepped out and did not appear to be ready to step away, back or even down. Thus, Jesus takes this man and his attitude into account and begins a parable of loving your neighbor.
“To love anyone is nothing else than to wish that person good.”
-St. Thomas Aquinas
Love Your Neighbor 2019
A Christian crusade for community change through connection and compassion.
Life Path Mobile Ministries & Faith Impact Training (F.I.T.) work in conjunction with Life Path Multimedia to present a week-long campaign of Love Your Neighbor. Explore and experience showing the love and spreading the love throughout Passion Week and Good Friday, all the way through Easter Sunday worship. Let love provide the fuel for you this week and beyond as we evangelize and reach out with compassion and seek to make deeper connections with others through our love for Him towards others.
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