Who is my neighbor?
Who should I help? How should we respond to Ian as a Christian community here in Manatee County? How far away should my efforts reach? Who is my neighbor?
In Luke chapter 10, a lawyer asks Jesus “what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” (Notice he says “Inherit”, not earn, a very lawyer thing to ask.) Jesus countered his question with a question. What is written in the law and how do you read it? The lawyer responds in verse 27, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” The lawyer quotes Deuteronomy 6:5, and interestingly, gives no interpretation.
Jesus rewarded him with a good answer response. “You have answered right, do this and you shall live.” To which the lawyer goes on seeking to justify himself and asks Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
This is a brilliant question that Jesus answers with an even greater story of the Good Samaritan. I am sure most of you have heard the story a hundred times. But, please look at it in a different light today. The question we ask is “what neighbor do I help?”. But Jesus is saying, “You are THE neighbor when you help.” Read Luke 10:37 again in the light of Ian. Jesus asked the lawyer who is the neighbor, and the lawyer said, “The one doing the deed of mercy to him”. And Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise”. By doing, you are THE neighbor.
God has given us resources to bless others. Can you imagine if Jesus came into the world and only used the resources that God gave him to consume them upon himself? You and I would be dead in our sins if Jesus only served himself.
So, help and share with your neighbor. Next door? Yes. Manatee County? Absolutely. The counties to our south? Yes, be THE neighbor. Scripture is clear: you cannot out give God. The more you give, the more you receive.
The following articles will seek to highlight what the Christian community is doing in Manatee county to help and respond to the devastation of hurricane Ian.
James 2:26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.