A teacher of the law once asked Jesus how to get eternal life. In response, Jesus asked him what the law of Moses said. The lawyer responded with what Jesus called the most important commandment. “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 neighbor as yourself.’” Luke 10:27 Jesus’ response is awesome. He said, basically, “You got it, now go do it and you get eternal life.” Easy, right? If loving your neighbor was easy, we wouldn’t have fences, road rage, divorce, war, or just about anything else that’s selfish or harmful. In fact, the lawyer talking with Christ recognized that immediately, because his very next question was, “but who is my neighbor?” The parable that follows about the Good Samaritan is one of Christ’s most famous. In fact, Samaritan is so synonymous with “a good person who helps someone else,” that many people don’t realize the bad reputation that Samaritans had with Jesus’ Jewish audience. The fact that the good neighbor was a Samaritan and not one of the Jewish religious leaders was scandalous! Scandal aside, there are a few lessons that can be learned from the Samaritan about loving your neighbor. You can read the whole parable in Luke 10:30-37, if you’d like.

See Others with Compassion

The parable starts with a man traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho, likely through a mountain pass. He was attacked by thieves who robbed him, beat him, and left him for dead. The first two men who passed by him were a Jewish priest and Levite, both of whom would have known the law. Both men passed by him without helping. Luke says, “But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion.” Luke 10:33 The first step in loving your neighbor is seeing him or her with compassion. When our focus is on ourselves, we miss the needs of others. If I’m being honest, I struggle with this often. I can be consumed with my needs or thoughts and miss what’s going on with others. It takes intentionality for most of us to look to others and their needs before our own. But when we do see the needs of others, we are given the opportunity to act.

Treat Others with Generosity

The Samaritan saw the man on the side of the road, bandaged his wounds, put the man on his animal, walked him into town, and took him to a place where he could receive care (Luke 10:34). Once we see the needs of others, it can be tempting to assume there’s someone else better suited to meet them. Or we may do enough to show we care, but not enough to meet the needs of others. Have you ever told someone you would pray for their need and then not followed through? That might briefly make them feel a little better (and, more importantly, make you feel better about yourself), but in the end it isn’t really helpful. Loving our neighbors is sacrificial. Paul said it this way: “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.” Philippians 2:3 Loving our neighbors is counting them more significant than ourselves. It means putting aside our comfort, our success, our treasures for the needs of others. For the Samaritan, it meant going out of his way to treat the wounds of a man he didn’t know (who probably would have despised him in any other circumstance), provide transportation for him, and pay for his medical treatment. But he didn’t stop there. His love for his neighbor was not a onetime act.

Follow Up with Intentionality

The Samaritan could have dropped the man off with the innkeeper, brushed the dirt off his sandals, and been on his way. Everyone would have already called him a hero and congratulated him for helping this man. But instead, the Samaritan promised the innkeeper, that he would come back and pay whatever expenses were needed to care for the man. Can you imagine?! One of the things that always struck me as insincere is the phenomenon of celebrities helping during crises. Look, I’m all for people with influence using it for the good of others. It’s just curious to me when I see celeb X at the local soup kitchen after a hurricane, followed by a publicist, photographer, and other random hangers on. Contrast that with the pastor I know who started a church a few years in the poor part of our town. He chose to go where there is a great need and not just help out once but give all he has to the community. He’s not there for the recognition or the accolades, but because he loves his neighbors. When we see someone compassionately, act with generosity, and follow up intentionally, we are loving them. It’s not easy, but it’s simple. Like Jesus says to the lawyer, “Go, and do likewise.” (Luke 10:37) By Rob Trahan