Will you be my neighbor?

Who do you love? (isn't that a George Thoroughgood song?)

Clay suggested that we love everybody we come in contact with. Hard to disagree with that.

There is a potential problem here, though. Are we to be active or passive about who we come across? Many of us live our life as part of the rich majority in this country, and certainly part of the rich class in the world. Being so, we can move through most of our life insulated from others not at our status level.

This leads to the passage in Luke that follows the GC passage from last post: The Good Samaritan. Who are we to love as we love ourself? Our neighbor. Who is our neighbor? In the story, it is not "everybody" but the one in need.

Least you think this is just more liberal, social gospel claptrap, here is a quote from the IVP commentary about the good samaritan passage; hardly liberal.

To love God means to show mercy to those in need. An authentic life is
found in serving God and caring for others. This is a central tenet of
discipleship. Here human beings fulfill their created role--to love God and
be a neighbor to others by meeting their needs. Neighbors are not determined
by race, creed or gender; neighbors consist of anyone in need made in the
image of God.

If we are not intentional, or try, as Aaron is suggesting, we can passively go through life not rubbing shoulders with the needy.

Malia came home from school one day fuming. Her class was having a discussion about the poor and many of the students did not feel we had many poor around. They are right. Not may poor go to a school that costs $600 a month to attend. Not many poor hang out at the pool in Chenal Valley, or at the Rave on the weekend. Not many poor are found driving around in WLR in their nicely insured vehicles.

I know that loving our neighbor does not just mean loving the poor but anyone that is needy, like the dude that was lying on the side of the road beaten and robbed.

I worry about a huge sin of omission here. Yeah, we might be willing to help a guy laying in the road if we come across him. Few are laying around beaten in our circles, but they are down "under the bridge." We know were they are. Seems we need to actively put ourself in a position to rub shoulders with them. This is intentional and active. To wait for them to come across our path is passive.

Jesus' lesson here seem direct and simple. No seminary degree needed. Just the will.