Jesus said: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love you neighbor as yourself.’ All the law and the prophets hang on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:37-40). He summarized the commands from God into these two and He also said: “...Do this and you will live” (Luke 10:28).
The phrase to [love your neighbor as yourself] was first recorded in the book of Leviticus (Leviticus 19:18). The meaning of the passage was simply to love your neighbour as yourself. However, a teacher of the law asked Jesus: “Who is my neighbour?” Jesus then gave a very famous parable known as the Parable of the Good Samaritan in order to explain who this ‘neighbour’ was referring to and to teach him what it means to love your neighbor as yourself (Luke 10:29-37). The summary of the story is: There was a man who was headed towards Jericho from Jerusalem, but he fell into the hands of robbers and was stripped of his clothes. He was also badly beaten and left on the roads. Luckily, a Samaritan came by and he had compassion on him and bound up his wounds. He also took him into an inn. Metaphorically, Jesus likely used this parable to explain that He is like this Good Samaritan who had compassion on his neighbors. Even though it seems as if He was merely passing by and that others might not know him, or even look down upon him, He would not disregard the ones who needs mercy. At the same time, He is willing to freely give them this compassion.
Two thousand years ago, when Jesus was born, He used 33 years, a short period of time to walk through this world as if He was just happening to be passing by. However, He came in order to bring mercy and salvation to those who are pitiable. He used His blood to save those who originally did not know him. All the time, He has been close to us so that he could help us at any time. Through the truth that He has brought with Him, we understand that He is the One and Only True God, the one who loves His neighbour. He became flesh and took the form of a human being to set an example so that we could follow His example of loving others. He has also promised that for doing such things, one can inherit eternal life, and this is what was behind the teachings of ‘love your neighbor as yourself’. Jesus said: “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). Jesus is the only Son of God, not only is He the good neighbour willing to save us, but even more so, He is the one who grants eternal life to those who trust in him and is willing to follow His example of loving one’s neighbor.
Dear friends, have you found the good neighbour of your life? Do you know Him? Do you know how to love others? We welcome you to join us in pursuing the teachings that allow us to inherit eternal life.
