Scripture reference
Luke 10:29-30, 36-37
But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?
30 And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
in our text above, a teacher of the Law asked Jesus to define who his neighbor is; but instead of telling him who his neighbor is, jesus
"' instructed him to go and be a neighbor to others. The teacher of the Law was asking this question based on God's commandment for us to love our neighbors as ourselves. jesus' response reflects the fact that to obey this commandment, we are to consider who within our circle of influence we can be a neighbor to. Christ implores us to be look for people who we can show love to and as such, be their neighbors; not the other way round.
When you are in pain or distress, you express your love for yourself by urgently seeking a way out of the negative condition. That is how we are to treat others, i.e., look for every way possible to help them out of every negative condition they may have found themselves in. it is possible that the reason why the Levite and Priest passed bythe other side after noticing the wounded man was because they realized that he was unrelated to them and as such, felt it unnecessary to offer any assistance.
in Matthew 5:46
why should God reward you if you love only the people who love you?
Even the tax collectors do that! Many people only offer assistance to those that they know will be able to repay them in some way. Do not be like the Levite, Priest or the teacher of the Law who asked the question. Do not be more concerned about who will be a neighbor to you. Be more concerned about who you can be a neighbor to.
What is expected of a neighbor
- A neighbour is expected to love the person near him. Romans 13:9-10 says
“…you shall love your neighbour as yourself. Love does no harm to a neighbour; therefore love is the fulfilment of the law.”
Honesty is required of a neighbour. Furthermore, a neighbour is not to bear false witness against the person near him.
to show mercy to the person near him.
Luke 10:36-37
“So which of these three do you think was a neighbour to him who fell among the thieves?” And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
God bless you :)