Who Is My Neighbor?

Many Christians rightly conclude that a neighbor is not just someone in the faith, but someone who is also made in God’s image. The following parable illustrates that nicely.

Anyone in need is your neighbor, and even if your enemies fall, you should not rejoice over that fact (Proverbs 24:17).

 “And behold, a lawyer stood up to put Him to the test, saying, ‘Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?’ He said to him, ‘What is written in the Law? How do you read it?’ 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.’ And He said to him, ‘You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live’” (Luke 10:25-29 [ESV]).

“But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’ Jesus replied, ‘A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?’ He said, ‘The one who showed him mercy.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘You go, and do likewise’” (Luke 10:29-37 [ESV]).

Notice a hated Samaritan is the one who gave the man care, not the holy priest, not the Levite, but the Samaritan.

This man would likely have been the Samaritan’s enemy, seeing as Jews and Samaritans were at odds with one another.

Even your enemies are your neighbors. It’s as simple as that. Jesus called us to love our enemies, though that doesn’t mean loving God’s enemies, to be fair to both sides of the issue.

However, the chances of your everyday person being an enemy of God literally are low. The wicked grapes of His wrath in the End Days are an example of His enemies. But it is God alone who leads holy wars, so that God’s prerogative alone in determining who are His enemies.

In everyday existence, the Parable of the Good Samaritan teaches us that enemy distinctions don’t define who our neighbor is. Our neighbor is everyone else who is made in the image of God, and unless someone is a deistic Satanist or the Antichrist, they aren’t God’s enemies.

If you don’t like members of the alternative communities, that doesn’t mean shunning them and not assisting them if they are down. Say you were minding your own business downtown during a protest and saw a protester with a bleeding skull. The rest of the protesters have moved forward without this person. Maybe they’re on the other side of an issue you are familiar with. Do you just let them suffer?

Of course not! You assist how you can and call for medical attention.

I’m not advocating for or against protesting when I say this, just using a point that in today’s climate would be familiar to most people.

Our neighbors are even those we might consider our enemies, whether that’s ridiculous but harmless “haters” or someone who genuinely wants to make your life hell.

Where the Torah said to love your neighbor and had an eye-for-an-eye mentality, Jesus gives us the truth of the matter. We are to love even our enemies.

That obviously doesn’t mean capitulating to an enemy nation bent on killing your civilian population in a time of war.

But it means mending relationships or keeping peace (and not mending) with those who misunderstand you by not reviling them in return or choosing not to take revenge for yourself.

The second greatest commandment is to love our neighbors as ourselves. It is in doing this that we fulfill the first great commandment of loving the LORD our God with all our hearts.

The same God who makes the sun rise on all people, regardless of their righteousness or wickedness—is the same God that has called us to be perfect as He is perfect.

Love your neighbor and don’t classify others as enemies if you don’t have to.

Shalom and blessings as you ponder Jesus’s ultimate wisdom over matters of the heart.