An expert lawyer attempted to trick Jesus Christ into validating his self-righteous belief about the requirement of inheriting God’s kingdom. The man asked Jesus, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” (Luke 10:25). Jesus told him,
“‘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.’” And He said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.” But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Then 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. Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise, a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. 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. 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.’ So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?” And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise” (Luke 10:27-37).
Lesson:
Anyone who hopes of inheriting God’s kingdom must practice true love and live exemplary life on earth. Our demonstration of true and genuine love for God can only be demonstrated by showing sincere love to people around us. That is, we cannot claim to love God that we haven’t seen while we have hated people that we have seen! God expects his children to demonstrate good virtues towards other people.
Meanwhile, believers’ genuine love towards others is very advantageous to everyone involved: It will bless the recipient and also draw them closer to God, which will eventually lead to populating God’s kingdom. Also, the exercise will make us feel good since it is a validation that we have successfully obeyed God. However, God will in turn reciprocate true love demonstrated by blessing the obedient child involved! Jehovah will shower his multiple blessings into the lives of people who obey his commandment to practice genuine love.
To further simplify, Jesus’ narrated story of the “Good Samaritan” shared to respond to a self-righteous lawyer portrays God’s reflection of a symbol of true Christianity – Which is LOVE! (Luke 10:25-37). It could be deduced from the story that what God will use to gauge Christianity level may not be based on anyone’s spiritual title or religious activities. A person to be awarded the honor of “A good Christian” will be someone who has connected with other people’s feelings and offered every necessary assistance within his/her capacity.
Prayer:
Dear God, please make me a Christian that loves other people with a pure heart. Help me to have a selfless attitude towards others. Let me be a part of people’s solutions, and not be a contributor of problems. Please let me be your true ambassador on earth and let me serve you well so that I can qualify for your huge rewards in your kingdom. For in the name of Jesus Christ I make my requests. Amen.
