“Dear, friends, let us love one another, 

for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.” 

(1 John 4:7)

Jesus said, in John 13: 34-35

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

The world will know that we are disciples of Christ by the way we treat one another. Our actions speak louder than our words. People look at us to see examples of what God can do, and who God is. But we aren't loving one another, we are lying and cheating and hurting each other, They are seeing a God whose people are filled with hypocrisy and they see a God full of hypocrisy. We need to make it our aim to be honest and truly loving towards one another. 

Check your intentions; a good thing done for the wrong reason is still a wrong in the heart. Our acts of ‘love’ or ‘righteousness’ shouldn’t be done in such a way to bring glory to us, but to bring glory to God, to show the world the power of His Saving Grace.

“Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them if you do, you will have no reward from your father in heaven”…

“But when you give to the needy do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be done in secret”

Matthew 6:1 and 3

God’s love is for everyone ands He want ours to be to.  As said in Luke 6: 27-36 that even sinners love those who love them. “What credit is it to you if you do good to those who do good to you?”

We all know the story of the ‘Good Samaritan” Right?

“Just then a religion scholar stood up with a question to test Jesus. “Teacher, what do I need to do to get eternal life?”

He answered, “What’s written in God’s Law? How do you interpret it?”

He said, “That you love the Lord your God, with all your passion and prayer and muscle and intelligence and that you love your neighbors well as you do yourself”

“Good answer!” said Jesus. “Do it and you’ll live”

Looking for a loophole, he asked, ‘And just how would you define ‘neighbor’?”

(the message) 

How many of us have read this and related to the Religion Scholar? 

We want to do the right thing, We even know the right thing, but it isn’t easy… its hard doing the right thing, so we look for a shortcut, we look for an easier road to take. We look for loopholes. 

And then Jesus tells him q parable, one I’m sure we’ve all heard and nodded our heads in agreement with. But have you ever honestly taken the parable as a challenge (a command?) for you and your life? Let’s finish the story….

Jesus answered by telling a story. “There was once a man traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho. On the way he was attacked by robbers. They took his clothes, beat him up, and went off leaving him half-dead. Luckily, a priest was on his way down the dame road, but when he saw him he angled across to the other side. Then a Levite religious man showed up; he also avoided the injured man,

A Samaritan traveling the road came on him. When he saw the man’s condition, his heart went out to him. He gave him first aid, disinfecting and bandaging his wounds, Then he lifted him onto his donkey, led him to an inn and made him comfortable. In the morning he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘take good care of him. If it costs any more, put it on my bill, I’ll pay you on my way back.’ 

“What do you think? Which of the three became a neighbor to the man attacked by robbers?”

“The one who treated him kindly.” the religion scholar responded. 

Jesus said “Go and do the same” (from the message)

In this story the Priest and the Levite “people of God” passed by on the other side of road, COMPLETELY avoiding the Jewish man in need. However the Samaritan, who hates Jews, and would have been hated by Jews stopped to care for the man. Then Jesus said “Go and do the same” that’s our challenge. To love our neighbors in the same way the Samaritan did. Indiscriminating, and sacrificially. 

Will you be like the Priest and the Levite and cross to the other side of the street? Or are you more like the scholar looking for loopholes and limits? Looking to do just enough to get by?

Or will you “Go and do the Same” go and love like Jesus ?