And he 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."
And He said to him, "You have answered correctly; DO THIS AND YOU
WILL LIVE."
But wishing to justify himself, he said to Jesus, "And who is my
neighbor?"
Jesus replied and said, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to
Jericho, and fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went
away leaving him half dead. And by chance a priest was going down on that road,
and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite also,
when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a
Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt
compassion, and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on
them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care
of him. On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper
and said, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return I will
repay you.' Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the
man who fell into the robbers' hands?"
And he said, "The one who showed mercy toward him."
Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do the same." Luke 10:25-37 NASB
Go and do the same. Treat those near us and those we pass by
with mercy…love and compassion. I’ve always been impressed with the degree to
which this Samaritan gentleman provided care. He didn’t just pick the beaten
man up off the ground, dust him off and send him on his way. No, the Samaritan
used his own wine, oil and bandages that he likely had to tear from his own
clothes, to clean and bandaged the wounds. A little sacrifice took place there.
Then good old Sam trudged alongside of his own donkey, carrying this Jewish
fellow, to the next inn where he guaranteed the wounded man’s care. Paying for
a complete stranger who was not of his religious sect was very generous commitment.
He was magnificently merciful. Could we do the same today?
It can be dangerous to stop on the road or busy highway to
help someone. The shoulders of the road hardly fit a car and as other motorists
go zipping by at 60 or 70 miles per hour you can literally be taking your life
in your hands just to pull off the road, let along consider how it will be to
get back into traffic. A day or so ago, I saw a young lady walking with traffic
along a busy highway…but she was three lanes over—on the fast side of the
roadway. There was no way I could get over to even see if she needed help—so I
just prayed for her. “Take care of her, Lord.” I trust that He did just that.
Love God…Love Your Neighbor.
That is the sum value of the Ten Commandments. Jesus promised …do this and you will live. I guess that
the “loving God” part involves the believing in Jesus that gives us eternal
life. How are you doing with that…loving God and loving your neighbor as
yourself?
If,
however, you are fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, "YOU
SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF," you are doing well. James 2:8
NASB
Prayer
~ Lord God, I love You with all of my heart, soul, mind and strength…and I am
certainly trying to love my neighbor as myself. Please help me to love myself
more…and to help my neighbor, too.
Daily
Bible Reading: 2 Chronicles 32-33
©
2017 Text and photos by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.
All
scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted.
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