Nuances

01.10.13

Luke 10.29 29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”(NIV)

One day, Jesus was having a conversation with a lawyer. A lawyer in those days was an expert in the Law: one that knew the Levitical Law through and through. Like those who study the Bible now, lawyers then, had questions: What exactly does this mean? Do I actually have to do that? And so on. The question in the lawyer’s mind centered on the concept of eternal life. He wanted to know what Jesus thought about eternal life.

Jesus answers by asking him what is written in God’s Law: How do you read it?

The lawyer answers: love God completely and thoroughly; and love my neighbor as myself.

And Jesus said, Do this and you will live.

But the lawyer was hung up on nuances – define neighbor: Who is my neighbor? Someone who lives next to me, or anyone else in the Jewish community?

So Jesus shares with him the parable of the Good Samaritan. There were no good Samaritans in the eyes of a Jew.

Yesterday, a friend and I talked about martyrs. He’d read a book and was telling me about the experience of a martyr who’d been burned at the stake. The bottom line of the conversation was that martyrs are NOT just those who’ve been persecuted for their faith and killed in some gruesome manner – martyrs are witnesses who share what they’ve heard, seen, and experienced. A martyr is a witness who shares what they know about something; what they’ve seen about something and what they’ve experienced about something.

In the Christian community we are called to share as witnesses everything we’ve heard, seen, and experienced with Jesus Christ. He may be presently invisible, but that doesn’t mean He isn’t present. He may be invisible, but that doesn’t mean He’s inactive. And so our number one purpose is to be about the business of sharing everything we have heard, seen, and have experienced as believers in Jesus Christ. It’s not about Sunday mornings – it’s about the everyday worship and witness of the presence of the Living Lord. That’s what witnesses do.

And who are we to witness to? Who is my neighbor? Anyone who will listen. Anyone in need. In life with Christ it isn’t about nuances – it’s all about obedience. If we do that we will live. It’s isn’t about rules; it’s about relationship with a real God who really says, love your neighbor as yourself. If we’re going to err on the side of anything, we need to err on the side of doing as Jesus told us to do, and then letting the chips fall where they may as a result.

Eternal life defined is all about my truly loving God with everything I say and do, and all that is within me; and truly loving my neighbor (whoever that may be at the present moment) as I love and care for myself. Lord, may Your love flourish in me today toward You and the ones around me as I share about everything I’ve heard, seen, and experienced in You…