This podcast is a repost, was originally published on July 17, 2017.

Series: Who’s My Neighbour ?

We are all united by the name of Jesus. It is not the church or denomination we belong to, it is the name of Jesus that keeps us as one big family. This week we are going to talk about love. A man asked Jesus which is the greatest commandment, and Jesus confirmed it is this ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. To this the man replied, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus answered this question through the story of the Samaritan who helped the wounded man in need and said his response made him a neighbor to the man, in comparison to the priest and the Levite who ignored the man and walked away.

We are faced with the same challenge everyday. We are often ritualistic and legalistic in our obedience to God’s word. We strive to be on time, maintain the right way of doing things, and make sure everything is perfect, but the one area we compromise on is our love for people. We know the priest and the Levite in the story were running to be in the Temple on time. They wanted to be right and perfect and not be unclean by touching a stranger on the way to the Temple. No matter how justified their reasons may seem, at the end of the story it was the Samaritan man who got the favor and acknowledgement of our Father.

How many times do we compromise on our human relationships to be legalistic in our obedience to God? Of course, loving someone doesn’t mean doing what they want but be careful to not let commitment to church or duties become a reason to not love the people around you.

When we are pursuing our desire to love God, it must come with a desire to love those whom God has placed around us. After all the commandment says to love God and your neighbor.

Believe that everyone in your life has been divinely placed by God. They are not there by chance or choice, they are there because God has placed them there. It can be your family or friends or colleagues, people who you may think are not meant to be in your path.

If God has divinely placed someone in your life it is so that you can be like the good Samaritan man who reached out and blessed the hurting man. If God is watching the way we react to people around us, how much more careful must we be in asking “who is my neighbor?”

Be conscious about this. Keep your eyes, ears, heart, understanding and sensitivity open. Ask God to show you your neighbor towards whom you can express God’s love and be His hands, feet and heart in this generation.

If you have any testimonies to share, please write to Pastor Priji on [email protected]