Food for Friday
But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour? Luke 10:29
Who is my neighbour? That’s a fascinating question, although it is one that we should all have some understanding of an answer. After all, the lawyer asking the question is responding to the Lord Jesus when He declared that loving our neighbour as ourself is one of the requirements for inheriting eternal life. The Pharisees of which the lawyer was probably a member had strict guidelines and regulations about who could be their neighbours. The number would be small, just a few members of his little clique. If you and I were to list our neighbours, how many names would we come up with? The answer is important, so we had better be accurate. If the number is small and if the list includes the right people, our responsibility is not so great, and our likelihood of meeting the standard is much higher. So go ahead and ask yourself, who is my neighbour?
The lawyer had a reason for asking the question; he wanted to justify himself. He had asked the Lord Jesus what he had to do to inherit eternal life, and now he is trying to point out how well he has kept the law. He is not the least bit interested in accepting the responsibility that comes with knowing who his neighbour is. But that is the whole point, as the Lord Jesus was about to teach him. It is not enough to know who my neighbour is; I must also know what my responsibility is to that neighbour. And if I fail to live up to that responsibility, I am in violation of the law.
When we use the term ‘neighbour’, we often are referring to the people who live nearby. These people certainly qualify. So do the people we work with, the people we associate with on a regular basis, and the people we share anything with. But as the story the Lord Jesus is about to relate tells us, our neighbour is anyone who comes into our experience in any way. And what is our responsibility to these neighbours? According to the lawyer’s words, we are to love them as ourselves. That means we are to take an interest in their material, social, and spiritual welfare. It means we are to share generously and care compassionately. It means we are to look out for them in whatever way we can and help them in every way where we see a need. It’s a huge responsibility. How can we possibly live up to that?
Look at the lawyer’s question, who is my neighbour? He did not ask, who are my neighbours? At this moment, you have only one neighbour to be responsible for. It may be the person sitting next to you or eating a meal with your, or the person on the other side of the room or street. While we should do all we can for everybody that we can, in reality, we are effective only as we respond to one other person at a time. The neighbour you have at this moment is the one you need to be concerned about. Does that person need the Gospel, a few dollars, a sympathetic ear, a word of encouragement, or just a smile?
Who is my neighbour? What am I doing to fulfill my responsibility to my neighbour? -Jim MacIntosh