As an army family, being “neighborly” can be something of an awkward situation.
It is no secret when a family moves in or out of the neighborhood. The massive amounts of flying cardboard and huge semi trucks loading up thousands of pounds of personal belongings kind of give it away.
Being neighborly on post is not an easy task. Most of the time, folks keep pretty much to themselves. I am sure it is because they (ok we) are all busy and the effort it takes to build a relationship when they are probably moving to a new duty station in the next 12 seconds is, well, a lot of work.
But we try to be good neighbors. We really do. Sometimes it is well received, other times they just eat our “Welcome to the neighborhood” chicken dinner and we never hear from them again. (And they may or may not keep the Tupperware containers we served it in.)
Here’s the deal: We don’t have to be in the army to be neighborly. Heck, we don’t even have to be neighborly to only those in our neighborhood.
We are called to take care of our “neighbors” regardless of location, receptivity or duration of stay.
We do this in the name of Christ. This brings us to today’s Walk Through the Parables, the one about the Good Samaritan. It is found in Luke 10:25-37 if you want to follow along.
An expert of the law approaches Jesus and inquires how to get to heaven. Jesus of course responds with the “greatest two commandments” of loving God and loving neighbors.
I imagine this law expert puffed up, assuming that he was good to go to heaven. Just to make sure he didn’t need to create any loopholes, he asked who his neighbor happened to be.
The Jesus launches into the parable.
A man was traveling and got jumped by robbers. They beat the tar out of him and left him for dead. Soon a priest passed the ailing man but went to the other side of the street, ignoring him. The same thing happened when a Levite saw the wounded guy. He looked the other direction.
But then, wouldn’t you know, the “despised” and “unholy” Samaritan comes along, sees the bleeding man and comes to his aid. He patched him up and took him to an inn to heal, giving the manager some money to cover initial expense and pledging to pay any additional costs.
I am sure you know where this is going…
Who fulfilled the role of the injured man’s neighbor? The Samaritan.
So what can we learn?
1. If you are ever traveling from Jericho to Jerusalem by yourself, take mace to ward off robbers. (Totally kidding. Just wanted to see if you were still awake.)
But seriously…
*Our call to be neighbors to those around us is not limited by color, status, race, gender, nothing. We are to be like Christ to everyone who crosses our path.
*Just because we are “holy” or “righteous” doesn’t mean we have a straight shot to heaven. Titles mean diddly squat when it comes to following Jesus. If we love and live like Jesus, that is our ticket.
Think about this parable for a moment. When has someone been “neighborly” to you? How can you pay that forward as we live and love like Christ? I welcome your feedback. Comment below.
Being neighborly is not something that just happens. It must be intentional. We don’t need the “title” of Good Samaritan to serve… We just need the love of Christ in our hearts.
So… Won’t YOU be my neighbor?
Serving Him,
“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.” ~Luke 10:36-37
Linking up today with Kelli via Unforced Rhythms, Laura at Playdates with God, and Joan’s Beauty in His Grip. Oh! And be sure to join our #EverydayJesus link-up community right here at 7 Days Time every Thursday!
