What Does It Mean to Love Your Neighbor? (Luke 10:25-37)
In the book of Luke, a lawyer asks Jesus, "What shall I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus asks the lawyer, "What is written in the law?" "How do you read it?" The lawyer answers, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind, and your neighbor as yourself." Jesus affirms this response: "You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live." But the lawyer, wanting to justify himself, asks Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" In response, Jesus tells a story of a man who was beaten and left for dead on the side of the road. A priest and a Levite pass by without helping, but a Samaritan stops to care for the man. The Samaritan bandages the man's wounds, puts him on his own animal, takes him to an inn, and pays for his care. After telling the story, Jesus asks the lawyer, "Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?" The lawyer respond...
