In this daily Bible reading Jesus proclaimed the two Commandments that sum up all the Commandments: “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.”
Jesus used the story of the ‘good Samaritan’ to illustrate how to be a good neighbor. The ‘good Samaritan’ was a person who inconvenienced himself to help a person in need. The person in need had been robbed and injured and left by the side of the road. A Priest and a Levite had passed him by, not stopping to help. However, a Samaritan stopped to help the injured man.
The Samaritans were despised by the Jewish priestly leadership because they didn’t conform to Jewish religious rules and traditions. The Priests and Levites represented the Jewish religious order. However, they did not have or demonstrate compassion toward the injured man. They did not demonstrate ‘love for their neighbor’ as they should.
The Bible says that we are to help others and not focus only on ourselves. I believe that God will bring certain people into our lives who need our help. We will know in our hearts that God has brought them across our path. We must be ready to respond as a ‘good neighbor’ in those instances, even if it means inconveniencing ourselves.
