WHO IS MY NEIGHBOR

The command to 'love your neighbor' is first mentioned in Leviticus 19:18 ... Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord. 

The Jews of Jesus’ day understood this as 'love fellow Israelites'. But when an expert in the law tempted the Lord, His response revealed that it is more than loving those who are like you (and can love you in return) ... 

And behold, a lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 

And He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?” 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.” 

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

Jesus replied and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he encountered robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away leaving him half dead. And by coincidence, a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise, a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 

But a Samaritan who was on a journey came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own animal, and brought him to an inn and took care of him. On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return, I will repay you.’ 

Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?” And he said, “The one who showed compassion to him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do the same.” (Luke 10:25-37)

The Samaritan was someone the Jews would have considered 'unclean' ... yet he showed benevolence toward one who could have regarded him as an enemy. 'Loving your neighbor' does not mean you agree with everything he says or does, nor does it mean acting in a way that gains his approval. 

The parable teaches us that a neighbor is anyone with whom we can share God’s love. We are called not only to those who are similar to us or with whom we are comfortable ... but to all within our proximity.

D L Moody - Who is thy neighbor? It is the sufferer, wherever, whoever, whatsoever he be. Wherever thou hearest the cry of distress, wherever thou seest anyone brought across thy path by the chances and changes of life (that is, by the Providence of God), whom it is in thy power to help, - he, stranger or enemy though he be, ... he is thy neighbor.

You should not only come to the aid of your neighbor's physical needs ... but to his spiritual needs as well. Patching up a man's wounds is a momentary display of compassion; sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ can have an eternal impact.