Closeness With God预览

> Love Your Neighbor

“One day an expert in Religious Law stood up to test Jesus by asking Him this question: 'Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?' Jesus replied, 'What does the law of Moses say? How do you read (interpret) it?' The man answered, '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.’ 'Right!' Jesus told him. 'Do this and you will live!' The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, 'And who is my neighbor?' Jesus replied with a story:

'A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road. By chance, a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. A Temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side.

'Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’

'Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?' Jesus asked. The man replied, 'The one who showed him mercy.' Then Jesus said, 'Yes, now go and do the same”' (Luke‬ ‭10:25-37,‬ ‭NLT).‬‬

‭‭Look at the way Jesus applied Scripture.

Parables were always told so you could find yourself in the story. “Who am I in this story? Am I the priest, the temple assistant, the despised outsider?"

Q: What happens to a priest if they touch someone who is bleeding?

A. They become unclean for at least that whole day and maybe even seven days. This means they cannot perform their priestly duties at the Temple.

I think these guys in the Bible story get a bad rap. It’s easy to see how devout they were because doing God’s Work was so important to them. They wouldn’t let anything stop them. Even helping somebody half dead on the side of the road. They just didn’t realize that helping one of God’s children is also doing God’s Work.

This is why Devekut, or being close to God, is also about restraining ourselves from things that stop us from progressing to Christlikeness. If we get the Bible right and Jesus wrong, we have missed something critical - that Love fulfills the Law.

Samaritans were considered unclean and not right before God. They were despised by the Jews. And yet Jesus says this despised Samaritan was the loving neighbor who took care of his enemy.

An unclean Samaritan who helps a bloodied man is right before God because of love.

-> Love fulfills the Law (Rom 13:8-14).

Devekut means to cling to Jesus. This means we restrain ourselves from any religious mindset that would hinder us from progressing and being God’s loving agents here on Earth.

Prayer:

Jesus, You truly are Love personified. You Love without measure and desire that everyone might be saved. Your Love in me helps me to Love the world around me. But help me with some of the people I really struggle to embrace. As You bring them to my mind right now, show me how You Love them and want to include them in Your Family.

Let it be so Lord, Amen.