Loving Our Neighbors

It struck me recently that “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,” whereas we’re commanded: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” God loved the world; we love our neighbors. Does this distinction mean something?

Well, consider that when someone asked, “Who is my neighbor?”, Jesus told the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37), where a Samaritan (an ethnic group despised by his Jewish audience) helps a stranger who was beaten and left for dead. The Samaritan is not merely polite; he goes well out of his way, spends money, and offers extravagant hospitality to this stranger who, the day before, probably would have spat in his face simply for being a Samaritan.

Jesus concludes the lesson: “Go therefore and do likewise.” Don’t be like the religious leaders whose high, philosophical “love” enabled them to bypass the man in need. Be like the Samaritan, step into the messiness of reality, and actually—not just theoretically—love the people in your path.

God can say He loves “the world” because He is all-knowing and all-powerful. We aren’t. When we hold our heads up and offer generalized “love” to the entire world, we too easily bypass the neighbor right in front of us—a neighbor fearfully and wonderfully made in God’s image and whom God, in His sovereignty, chose to put in our path.

We cannot claim to love God if we neglect His image-bearers right in front of us. May we, by His Spirit, see and love them.

Ministry Minute

SENIORS

Lynn Hurley

Deacon

Sunday morning to start the service, I was greeted by one of my favorite choruses from Psalm 42:1,

‘As the deer pants for streams of water so my soul longs for you’.

This morning, my reading in Hebrews 10:24 encourages us to spur one another on by meeting together which sounds suspiciously like the weekly Thursday Haggen’s senior coffee, Women’s coffee, monthly potluck, work party outreach as well as bible studies.  The common thread for all these gatherings is our faith in Christ.

I was once asked years ago by a dear friend how my walk with Jesus was going.  I responded things had been a little dry lately.  To which he responded “Guess who moved?”  

David encourages us even in the heat of battle from Psalm 46:10,

‘Be still and know that I am God’.  

We are blessed with an active senior group as well as many other ministries to encourage and enhance those quiet times and fellowship. I encourage you to take advantage of them.