One winter day in Michigan, a delivery man noticed an elderly woman shoveling snow off her driveway. He stopped and convinced the eighty-one-year-old to let him finish the job. Concerned that he’d be late delivering his other packages, she retrieved another shovel. They worked side by side for almost fifteen minutes as her neighbors watched from afar. “I’m thankful you helped me,” she said. “You’re God-sent.”
During a conversation with an expert in the law, Jesus redefined the concept of loving our neighbors (Luke 10:25-37). When Jesus asked him to interpret the law he knew so well, the expert said, “ ‘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, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’ ” (v. 27).
Then Jesus shared a story about two religious leaders who ignored a robbery victim. But a Samaritan—a person most Jewish leaders in those days considered inferior—sacrificed to help the man in need (vv. 30-35). When the expert of the law realized that the one who had mercy on the man had loved like a neighbor, Jesus encouraged him to do likewise (vv. 36-37).
Loving others isn’t always easy or convenient. But as Jesus overwhelms us with His love, He’ll help us love all our neighbors like the Good Samaritan did.
How has God shown you His love through an unexpected neighbor? Who can you show God’s love to in a practical way this week?
Dear Jesus, please give me opportunities to love all the people You created and who You call my neighbors.
Luke 10:27-37 features one of Jesus’ more widely known parables—the Good Samaritan. What makes it so remarkable is that Samaritans were outcasts. As a result of Assyria’s invasion of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, the Israelites intermarried with Assyrians, resulting in this mixed-race people. Though hated by the Jews, Samaritans were clearly people Christ cared about, as seen not only in this parable but also in John 4:1-42 in His encounters with a Samaritan woman and in Luke 17:11-19 with a Samaritan leper. God’s care for the Samaritans is just one example of the comprehensive nature of His love described in John 3:16.
