Who is my neighbour?

Aug 22, 2017 By Hephzibah Stephen

“Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” asked the Lawyer and Jesus answered him saying, “‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbour as yourself.’ ”(Lk 10:27). The Lawyer immediately wanted to know who his neighbour was supposed to be!

To explain this Jesus told the story of the good Samaritan.

In this story, the Samaritan had never met the fallen man before in his life. But Jesus said that the Samaritan was the one who did the neighbourly act of saving him!

Who then is our neighbour?

Every single person whom God has placed around us or brings into our life is our neighbour. Many times, we are overwhelmed by the poverty and sickness around and we feel powerless. Sometimes this thought stops us from even doing the little that we can.

We all know the story of the starfish. A man walking on a seashore saw a little boy throwing the starfish that were washed ashore back into the sea. Thinking that it was a futile act, he asked the little boy and the boy’s answer challenged him. The boy replied, “I might not be able to save every one of them; but for the ones that I save, it is the difference between life and certain death”.

While we cannot change the life situation of every one in every slum, we can make a difference in the lives of those the Lord brings into our life. Every day we use the services of the domestic helpers, drivers, the ironing man, the fruit vendor, the petty shop owner at the corner and the list goes on. We can make a positive difference in their lives. We can be kind to them, treat them well and give them the right wages. We can try to understand their problems, advise them on the many issues that trouble them.

This list is not exhaustive by any chance. The idea is, we should do all that we can to help those God has placed around us. If every one of us can decide to do this, we can change the world!

My friend, let us ask ourselves that critical question today.

Categories: Weekly DevotionalsAuthor: Hephzibah StephenDate: 22nd August 2017 Share: newsletterDisplay date: 23rd August 2017

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