Luke 10: 25-29 Who is my neighbor?

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

The question, "Who is my neighbor?" is the grounds for all evangelism and causes us to look again at the role of works in our salvation. Jesus answered the question by giving an example of the good Samaritan. He says that a man had been robbed and left to die. When the "so called" religious leaders came by they did not stop and help the man. When a Samaritan who was despised by society came by, he helped the man to be restored at his own expense and asked nothing in return. The Samaritan was the one who treated this stranger as a neighbor and loved him in the same way he loved himself. It is as James said, "What good is it to tell someone who is cold and hungry to be worm and be full, without making provision for them? Works cannot bring about salvation, because it takes the forgiveness of our Savior for that, but works are an outward sign of an inward change brought about by our salvation.

Daily Prayer: Father, let me live out my salvation in Christ. Apart from Christ, I can do nothing, but with Christ's help, there is nothing that I cannot do. Let this be according to your will. In Jesus name and for his sake I pray Amen.