Love

 And he answered, "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."

Luke 10:27 ESV

https://bible.com/bible/59/luk.10.27.ESV


Someone asked Jesus how he could live forever. Jesus' response is surprising. We might have assumed He would simply tell them to trust in Him. But He didn't, He took them to God's Law, which they knew was best summarised by this verse.


 So if we wholeheartedly loved God and our neighbour as ourselves, we would live forever. The problem is we don't. Even the questioner knew that deep down. So seeking to justify himself, he asked who his neighbour was.


Jesus responded with the story of the good Samaritan. Culturally, Samaritans were not seen as good. They were seen to be a mongrel people to pure blooded Jews (a bit like how some Celtic people might view the English!). They had different religious beliefs to the Jews as well. 


Just as religious people might assume atheists are morally dubious, devout Jews assumed Samaritans were bad. And yet in Jesus' story, the Samaritan was the loving neighbour to the man in need. Jesus commands us to go and do likewise.


'Loving Lord, thank You for modelling what You expect of us. Please help us to follow in the way of love that You have marked out for us. In Your glorious name we pray, amen'

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