Who is my Neighbor?

On June 30, 1859, one of the greatest tightrope walkers in history, Charles Blondin became the first man in history to walk across Niagara Falls. Approximately 25,000 people watched him walk a 1,000-foot line suspended above the raging falls without any safety nets. When he safely reached the Canadian side, the crowd cheered with thunderous applause.

On another occasion, he attempted to cross Niagara Falls pushing a wheelbarrow. The crowd gasped as he carefully loaded the front wheel of the wheelbarrow on the tightrope. He turned to a reporter who was covering the event, looked straight at him and asked the question, "Do you believe I can push someone across the Falls in a wheelbarrow?" Without blinking, the reporter yelled out, "Yes, I do! I know you can do it! I believe." Blondin paused and stared at the reporter. Then he said, "If you believe, get into the wheelbarrow.

God is in the business of stretching us in our faith. Sometimes He asks us to do challenging things, but are we willing to be stretched in our faith when Jesus confronts our Christian complacency? When Jesus stretches us it is because He loves us. He knows what it is for us to live life to the fullest. Even though it is uncomfortable when we are stretched, by faith we can lean into what God would have for us. He knows that this would bring us great joy when we take pleasure in Him, and when we listen to His Word for us, He knows what it is to have life to the fullest.

So, one of God’s most powerful stories blows the dust off our safe place and our safe faith and redefines neighbor for everybody in every nation in every generation. This is the story of the Good Samaritan. This is the reconciling heart of God for all people.

So, who is my neighbor? I think Jesus took the guesswork out of that. Jesus used the story of the Good Samaritan to demonstrate the power, the presence, the grace, and mercy of our God. Who is my neighbor? “The one who showed him mercy.” (vs.37) This truth goes beyond our cul-de-sac. From this day forward no one would have the permission to define a neighbor as someone you live next door.

Jesus elevated the dignity of everyone He met. People have value because they are created in the image of God. Human beings matter to God because He was the one who created us all, and despite how far we may have walked away, or despite of how callous our hearts are, He loves us. God is drawing them back like the story of the Prodigal Son; He is reaching for them like the prodigal of the Good Samaritan. People have value because they are human and created in the image of God. This is the reconciling heart of God. “Go and do likewise.” (vs.37) Who is my neighbor?

Do not dismiss this as a nice moral story for the first century without any meaning for today. The Lord is stretching us because He loves us. But this Good Samaritan, this one that the Jews could not even be in the same room with, this one that the Jews would not even touch, this Samaritan is the one who had mercy. This Samaritan treated his wounds, bandaged him up, put him on his donkey, took him to the inn, spent the night with him to make sure that he was going to be okay. He gave the innkeeper enough money to pay for a two-night stay, with more to come.

Do not let your love grow cold. Do not let the story of The Good Samaritan become too familiar to you. Sometimes I get so tired of how the world is. Another headline that worries me. Another escalation of a war. Another broken relationship. Another divide over politics that puts a wedge between friends. Another funeral. Another death. It is easy for a church to go in self-preservation and protection mode. At times you may feel like you cannot do anything else.

In Matthew 24:12 Jesus said, “Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold.” Friends, do not let your love grow cold, because if it does it will destroy us, and it will destroy our neighbor. Jesus elevated the dignity of everyone He met. A neighbor is not just somebody next door or someone you go to parties with. The question of who is my neighbor forces us to examine our own hearts and our prejudices to ask if there is contempt in us for a certain kind of people? Or a certain kind of people who align themselves with a certain kind of politics?

Jesus closes the story with this question. “Which of the three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man that fell into the hands of robbers?” (vs.36) Was it not the one who had mercy on him? Was it the expert in the law could not even say “Samaritan” because of his prejudice? It was the one who had mercy on him, I suppose.

It is a simple application, my friends; in fact, it is too simple that everyone knows the answer. Go and do likewise. Go be the Samaritan. It is not calling us to feed the 5,000, that is not this story. It is one guy on the side of the road who someone had mercy on. So, our challenge is to take this parable seriously in our lives. Open your day in prayer, love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. And do the horizontal work as well, love your neighbor as yourself. Be sensitive to God’s leading, do not talk yourself out of it. Do not cut someone off; if you can meet a need, meet it. If you can pay the price, pay it. Could you imagine if we took this seriously, what God might do?

Till Next Week When We Meet at the P.E.W.

Pastor Joel