Does the ability to become more Christlike sometimes seem out of reach? It’s not.
We might ask, “Am I praying enough?” … “Am I giving enough to my church?” … “Am I spending enough time studying the Word?”
In fact, your best Christian life is as close as your neighbor! Check out what is says in the gospel of Mark …
Mark 12:30-31
and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength. The second is this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.
Imagine that. The most admirable, beautiful, holy life one can hope for is as simple as that.
But what exactly does Jesus mean by neighbor? When a lawyer asks Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life, Jesus gives us the perfect answer of who our neighbor is. Jesus recounts the parable of the Good Samaritan (See Luke 10:25-37).
It’s the story of a Jewish man who is robbed on the road, while traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho. The victim is beaten, and his money and valuables taken. The victim is ignored by a Jewish priest and then a Levite, also Jewish. These two men should certainly have seen this wounded Jewish man as their neighbor. But they passed right by him, not lifting a pinkie to help.
Jesus continues the parable and says a person of Samaria, a person not of pure Jewish descent and considered an enemy to Jewish people, saw the hurt man, and provided generous assistance. The Samaritan tended the wounds, pouring oil and wine on them (something that would have cost the Samaritan dearly). He put the injured man on his own beast (which meant the Samaritan now had to walk), then traveled to an inn and paid for lodging and cared for the man.
Jesus asked the lawyer which of the men who saw the injured victim proved to be the neighbor to him. The lawyer answered, the one who showed mercy.
Is the person who lives next door to us our neighbor? Yes. But so is every living, breathing person on planet earth. And every time we show mercy, kindness, and compassion to anyone … we have loved our neighbor as thyself.
Here’s What Jesus Tells The Lawyer To Do Next …
Jesus tells the lawyer, who wishes to inherit eternal life, to behave like the Samaritan. Jesus’ actually instructs him, “Go and do thou likewise.” (Luke 10:37)
Is loving your neighbor too great a price to pay to live a life pleasing to God? Of course not. And you might find that truly loving your neighbor is one of the greatest joys that God ever bestowed upon you.
