When God Says …
“And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.” (Luke 10:35-37 KJV).
These last passages of the Lord’s response to the religious lawyer’s justifying question, drive deeply the parable’s powerful illustration of God's unconditional grace and mercy. These unveil true neighborliness that transcends ethnic, religious or social demarcation. So, who is our neighbor? The Lord Jesus challenges those legalistic, religious and worldly definitions, as well as racial, ethnic - and all other - limitations.
Hence, the Lord Jesus emphatically made the hero of His story a Samaritan, who is someone detested by the religious experts in the law, like him who had asked, "Who is my neighbor?" The parable reminds this expert, and us, that our neighbor is NOT someone who can do something FOR us or is similar to us, but the one who has a need that our Lord Jesus Christ can meet and supply THROUGH us. Let's always be that neighbor, starting today!
How do we go about to be that neighbor who loves? Do we go around looking for victims to provide their needs like a Robin Hood or Superman does, with our burning desire to do good using our might in self effort? In the ways of the world, maybe. But, not heaven’s way by grace, in Christ Jesus. Yes, we are to go and do likewise as the Good Samaritan manifested. Scriptures say: let us walk by faith (2 Corinthians 5:7). We allow the Holy Spirit to guide us, not by our emotions and human wisdom (Galatians 5:16). In Christ Jesus, love is manifested through us - “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world.” (1 John 4:9-11, 17 ESV).
And I say, AMEN!
Daily reflections by:
F. A. Frias
PFC Ministries
When God says... I say, AMEN! is a provocative reflection of the Lord's holy Word. It intends to challenge every seeker of truth to dig deep into the core of the Word of Life to point every being to Christ Jesus - the author and finisher of our faith, and to draw revelations for change, for nourishment and for strength of every soul.
Partners For Christ Ministries, INC
P. O. Box 773716
Ocala, FL 34477
Touching lives in Cambodia, The Philippines, The Middle East, The USA, and... other countries.
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