"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbour as yourself."
This weeks reading is Luke 10. Take a moment to pray, asking God to speak to you from this passage. Then read the passsage as a whole before reading the sections. within it
The chapter opens with Jesus appointing 72 other followers, in addition to the 12 disciples, to go and share the gospel message from town to town. He gives detailed instructions about what to do. He also reminds them that a rejection from the people is not personal; it is a rejection of God himself.
In verse 17, the 72 people return to share stories of their travel. They are amazed at the power they were given by Jesus. Jesus sees that this power has gone to their heads a little bit. So, he warns them not to focus on power, but instead, be grateful for the opportunity to spend eternity in God's kingdom.
Jesus shares the story of a Jewish man who is traveling and gets robbed and beaten. He is left by the side of the road to die. A priest, a Levite, and a Samaritan all pass by. However, the only one that helped the man was the Samaritan. This would have been shocking to the Jews as Samaritans were hated, considered evil, and nicknamed "dogs." Not only did the Samaritan care for the man, he went above and beyond what was necessary.
From the illustration we learn three principles about loving our neighbour:
1Lack of love is often easy to justify, even though it is never right;
2 our neighbour is anyone of any race, creed, or social background who is in need;
3 love means acting to meet the person's need. A friendly wave, a phone call, social media contact, shopping………. So many ways we can do this whilst keeping to the government guidance and keeping safe.
The chapter closes with Jesus visiting a small village. A young woman by the name of Martha invited him in. Martha was preoccupied with cooking and cleaning the house to make it perfect for Jesus. However, her sister Mary sat and listened to Jesus speak. Martha reprimands her sister publicly for not lifting a hand and helping around the house. Jesus corrects Martha telling her that she is focusing on the wrong things, and that Mary will be blessed for putting God first.
SO WHAT?
When people start following Jesus, Jesus sends them out to do ministry. Everyone who follows Jesus is called to serve people and do ministry.
The parable of the Good Samaritan reminds us that we need to love God with everything that we have, and everything we are. And, we need to love everyone. And finally, that love is a verb. It takes action. The Good Samaritan's love met the practical needs of his "neighbour."
We can become so busy with our daily to-do list that we can't be bothered to stop and spend time with Jesus daily. He reminds us that spending time focusing on him is central to our service.
Where are you currently serving as a volunteer? The idea is that we need to serve people with God's love, like the Good Samaritan did. Who has God put in your path that you can show some love to in the next 24 hours? Someone in your neighbourhood? What is a practical need you can meet in their life?
A friendly wave, a phone call, social media contact, shopping………. So many ways we can do this whilst keeping to the government guidance and keeping safe.
Blessings.
Martin