April 3
Luke 10:13-37
We learn at a young age how to make excuses. We become adept at blaming others or rationalizing our disobedience. “It was too hard”, “I did not have enough time”, or “I forgot” are phrases spoken often at my house and probably yours as well. One area we might make excuses is how well we love people. We often want to think we are more loving than we are. In this condition, we easily justify our actions in the same way the expert in the law did. When Jesus affirmed the way to eternal life was to love God and to love our neighbor, the man wanted to shrink those he had to love down to a tiny circle. Rather than directly answering who was the man’s neighbor, he told a parable.
The parable communicates we are to sacrificially love everyone who is placed in front of us, regardless of their needs or condition. Eternal life is received from God and then should be displayed in our relationships with others. We are called to "go and do likewise" (vs. 37) in much the same way that Paul tells us our only debt should be to continually love others. We should not ignore people because we are too busy, do not have anything to offer, or we are just too tired. Instead, we should have open eyes and eager hands to respond to the needs that God places in front of us today.
Father God, give me a heart to love you and others. Help me not to be so focused on myself that I ignore the needs of those you place in front of me. Help me to be like the Samaritan by responding to those in need today. Amen.
What excuses do you use in failing to love people well?
We learn at a young age how to make excuses. We become adept at blaming others or rationalizing our disobedience. “It was too hard”, “I did not have enough time”, or “I forgot” are phrases spoken often at my house and probably yours as well. One area we might make excuses is how well we love people. We often want to think we are more loving than we are. In this condition, we easily justify our actions in the same way the expert in the law did. When Jesus affirmed the way to eternal life was to love God and to love our neighbor, the man wanted to shrink those he had to love down to a tiny circle. Rather than directly answering who was the man’s neighbor, he told a parable.
The parable communicates we are to sacrificially love everyone who is placed in front of us, regardless of their needs or condition. Eternal life is received from God and then should be displayed in our relationships with others. We are called to "go and do likewise" (vs. 37) in much the same way that Paul tells us our only debt should be to continually love others. We should not ignore people because we are too busy, do not have anything to offer, or we are just too tired. Instead, we should have open eyes and eager hands to respond to the needs that God places in front of us today.
Father God, give me a heart to love you and others. Help me not to be so focused on myself that I ignore the needs of those you place in front of me. Help me to be like the Samaritan by responding to those in need today. Amen.
What excuses do you use in failing to love people well?
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