People

Who is your Neighbor?

Who is my neighbor? Many Christians struggle with this question. We know the answer, yet it is difficult for us to accept anyone outside of our family, religious, political and social circles as neighbor. Still, this backward thinking is not a new phenomenon. As a matter of fact, that is exactly how the religious leaders of Jesus’ time felt. They were wrong then, and you are wrong now.

Jesus was and is the ultimate teacher. He knows how to break things down so ordinary people can understand. Hence the reason He used the parable of the Good Samaritan to answer an expert in the Mosaic Law, when he asked: “Who is my neighbor?”

Here is how Luke describe the encounter: Luke 10:25-37, “25 And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Jesus, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

26 Jesus said to him, “What does the law say and how do you interpret it?”

27 The lawyer answered and said, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’”

28 And Jesus said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.”

29 But he, wanting to prove himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

30 Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. 33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’ 36 So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?”

37 And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.”

Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

Do you run the Christian race to win?

Do you run to win?

Recently the Town of East Hartford sent me a memo to remind me of the annual Hartford marathon. The event is schedule for October, 12, 2013, and as usual all side streets along the marathon route will be close to vehicular traffic.

I am not a participant in the Hartford marathon, but the memo reminds me that I am an active participant in another event.. It is called the Christian race; which in itself is a marathon.

Not everyone who competes in the Hartford marathon or any other marathon runs to win. The competition is very stiff, and there is usually only one grand prize for one winner.

Unlike an athletic marathon, everyone who participates in the Christian race is a potential a winner. Nevertheless, the haunting question is: Do you run to win? Like the athletic marathon, many people who jump in the Christian race do not run to win. These are people who seek short-term results, such as notoriety, enhance credibility and sometimes a mate.

The Christian race is a lifelong activity. There are no short-term results. Over the course of your journey, you will encounter many bumps, sharp turns and steep climbs, trials, and tribulation. But if you run the race with patience and endure to the end as the beloved apostle advised you to, you will receive the greatest grand prize–life.

The writer of the Hebrews sums it up this way: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us” (Hebrews 12:1).

He (God) is with us

Psalm 121:1-8

I will lift up my eyes to the hills—
From whence comes my help?
 My help comes from the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth.

He will not allow your foot to be moved;
He who keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, He who keeps Israel
Shall neither slumber nor sleep.

 The Lord is your keeper;
The Lord is your shade at your right hand.
 The sun shall not strike you by day,
Nor the moon by night.

 The Lord shall keep you from all evil;
He shall preserve your soul.
The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in
From this time forth, and even forevermore.

The chains have been broken

photo via muhammedinur.com

“Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage” (Galatians 5:1). “Therefore, brothers and sisters, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman” (Galatians 4:28)

Can humans love as Jesus does?

I cannot recall the number of times I have heard my fellow Christian brothers and sisters repeated the phrase: “I want to love as Jesus does”. I have even used this phrase countless times. However, after careful examination of the life Jesus lived, and the things He did and stood for, when He walked this earth, I am convince human beings cannot love as Jesus does. Furthermore, Jesus did not tell humans to love like He does. He commanded them to love their neighbors with the same sincerity as they would themselves.   The apostle John who was up close and personal with Jesus writes the following: “Greater love has no man than this that a man (Jesus) lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).

Jesus is in a class by Himself. He is Alpha and Omega. He is Omnipotent, Omniscient, and Omnipresent. He is capable to do things which the human brain cannot comprehend.