Select Page

As I shared in June in this post, every once in a while I read a few pages from my Mr. Rogers book, as there is always a lesson to be learned from him.

These are the words I’m pondering lately:

“We’re all neighbors. Everybody’s different. And there are some things about everybody that are the same. That’s what’s wonderful. That’s what helps us to understand each other. That we’ve got some things inside of us that are the same as somebody else’s. We’re all humans.”

Our now 5YO granddaughter loves the word “humans.” And there is something about the way the word rolls off her tongue which makes me realize the sanctity in the word. Humans are people who share some common characteristics and those very characteristics make us all equal in some way.

Neighbors are those persons who are near another. Maybe that is what became confusing to the lawyer who asked Jesus the question, And who is my neighbor?”

Jesus proceeds to answer the question with the parable of The Good Samaritan. The Samaritans were hated by the Jews. Jesus wisely flips the hero of the story to be the Samaritan. It wasn’t the Jewish people helping the Samaritan. It was the Samaritan who displayed love to the one who hated him. It was the Samaritan who risked his life and spent his own money to tend to the Jew and make sure he was well cared for as he healed.

It was the Samaritan who defined the word “neighbor” not only for the Jewish lawyer, but for us all.

Our neighbors:

  • can live on either side of us
  • can live in the same house as us
  • sit next to us in church
  • are in line at the supermarket with us
  • sit near us in the doctor’s waiting room
  • are in school with us
  • work with us
  • drive on the same roads as us

As the conversation between the lawyer and Jesus continued, Jesus asks him, Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?”Â 

Two men had literally walked passed the beaten man without offering any help. The lawyer had heard the story and rightly responds, “The one who showed mercy toward him.”

We don’t need any reason to offer mercy to another other than they are a human, a person in need. Jesus tells the lawyer, and us today, “Go and do the same.”

No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good,
    and this is what he requires of you:
to do what is right, to love mercy,
    and to walk humbly with your God.
(Micah 6:8, NLT)

**You can read the parable of The Good Samaritan in Luke 10:29-37.



I love the lessons Natalie Osbourne brings from her Yellowstone Park hikes. Each one truly is a gem. In her post, Don’t Walk Alone: How to be Prepared (HERE), she reminds us that there will be drama we must deal with when part of a herd. But we need the herd. Be sure to read her post for we need her wise reminders.

 

Come, sit a spell. Bring your coffee, your posts, and your thoughts. If you link up, kindly visit those who have drawn up a seat around you.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Image by Bob Dmyt from Pixabay