Get Real November 23 Devotional
November 23, 2024
Luke 10:36-37 | 36 Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the
robbers?” 37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
The contrast between the good Samaritan and the pious Jewish clergyman must have been a hard one for the lawyer to hear, given the contempt these two groups had for one another. The lawyer had asked the key question of Jesus, from his own point of view. Assuming he could love God completely through his ritual practices, he wanted to discuss his ethical responsibilities to others. But Jesus’ story imagines a different God to be loved and a different question when it comes to who we help. Jesus’ question is “to whom can we be a neighbor?” It is a question of need and how will we respond to the brokenness, sorrow, and pain all around us? This question reframes the entire system of standards, rules, and requirements that define our possibilities for virtue. Religion is following rules. Faith is following the One whose grace and mercy lead us into a new reality—a kingdom where we are changed to resemble Jesus who came to give His life away and to seek and save the lost and struggling.
To who are you trying to be a neighbor? What need calls to you right now?
