“But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?”

Luke 10:29 CSB

I really love moments like this in Scripture, because it shows the nature of what sin can do to us. This person asking the question of “who is my neighbor” to Jesus, is an expert of the law, a person who knew the old testament deeply. This question comes after the expert is trying to trip Jesus up and asking what the way to eternal life can be found, to which Jesus replies that we are to love God with everything, and love our neighbor (my paraphrase of Luke 10:25-29).

Then the expert follows it up with a question that I used to judge, but I now realize is something that we all do, who exactly is my neighbor? And he asks this because we don’t want to love every person around us, and that’s exactly the call of who Jesus tells us to love.

We are called to love everyone, no matter what.

I think it is so easy for us to understand this and say to ourselves, “yeah of course I love people!” But the reality comes into view and poses us the question, do you?

Do I truly treat every person as my neighbor and show love to them the same way I love myself?

Am I living in a way that emulates Christ and truly showing a deep care to every single person?

It’s very easy for us to care and show kindness towards those who are like us or that we already know and have a relationship with, but what does your love look like towards people not like us?

What does my love look like towards those who are not like me, or even people who have hurt me or that I don’t click with?

These are important questions and observations to investigate in ourselves, which is why Jesus leads then into the parable of the Good Samaritan. A story where a Samaritan shows mercy for someone they should not have shown mercy, culturally was not even supposed to interact with, let alone save the life of. Jesus highlights that both a priest, who was dedicated to serving the Lord and who was deeply well-versed in the tenants of the law, and a Levite, someone who was culturally a follower of the Lord and grew up knowing what to do; they both leave a man to die in the street.

Why does Jesus use them as an example? Because they were both people who should have lived out the faith and showed love to a dying man, but they didn’t, and that should sober us up to the love we so often withhold showing to those who desperately need it.

To love is to be so deeply rooted in faith that you cannot help but to give it freely and frequently.

My word for the year has been “rooted” and I did this intentionally, after experiencing a lot of new and unexpected things in my life, “rooted” kept coming back. We all are called to live out our faith, not just show others how much we know or how good of a person we are, we are called to be rooted in truth and let the fruit of our life be love.

The Samaritan had no reason to show love, yet he did, and this is who we are called to live as.

“Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?”

“The one who showed mercy to him,” he said.

Then Jesus told him, “Go and do the same.”

John 10:36-37 CSB

I wrote this for myself more than anything, because I know I can very easily fall back into the routines of my faith and forget the call of my faith. I hope this helps you to look inward and check on how you live outwardly. We are called to love God and be deeply rooted in Him and then from that, pour out love to others.

Who is my neighbor? Every person around you, each made in the image of God and worthy of love and mercy. So go, and be a good neighbor to every person.

• Your pastor and friend, Joshua.

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About the Author: Joshua Thomas is a husband, father, and pastor doing what he can to love others the way Jesus did. You can find him reading a good book, sipping warm tea, taking pictures, or dreaming. He may not have it all figured out, but the journey is the best part. You can find him on the only social media he uses, Bluesky and Instagram