who is your neighbor?

Jesus broke down the path to eternal life simply: love God with all you've got, and love your neighbor as yourself. as basic as that sounds, some of us inquisitive types might ask, "yeah, but i wonder what he meant by the word neighbor."

my next door neighbor? those in my neighborhood? my city? county? state? nation?

thankfully, there is no reason to wonder. someone - just like us - once asked Jesus that very question.

remember the story of the Good Samaritan? do you know why Jesus told the story? he told it because someone asked him what he meant by "neighbor."

if you don't know the story, check it out here. the parable teaches more lessons than i can even begin to expound on. but here's a couple quick points:

samaritans and jews were not friends during this time. for Jesus to use a samaritan as the "good guy" was profound and must have been inconceivable to those he was talking to.

the priest and the levite would have likely been traveling back from jerusalem to jericho. jericho was known as a principle residence for priests, and jerusalem was the site of the temple. the samaritan, on the other hand, would have lived near galilee and would never associated himself with jews (john 4:9).

Jesus is making a clear point to show that the samaritan was neither a neighbor in nationality, nor in proximity.

ultimately, the overarching point of the parable hits hard. jesus asks, "so which one was the neighbor?"... and the man responds with "the one who had mercy." to this, Jesus finally responds "now go and do likewise."

your neighbor is anyone, anywhere who is in need.

a child in a third world country is dying... she is your neighbor.
a young man in your city is struggling with addiction... he is your neighbor.
one of your friends has lost a loved one... he/she is your neighbor.
a mother in africa longs for food & water... she is your neighbor.
someone in your office is getting a divorce... he/she is your neighbor.

the boy in this picture is named danilo. he is an orphan in guatemala who is HIV positive. he is your neighbor.