A Reflection On Loving Others

When I find myself not caring about others

The question “Who is my neighbor?” was asked by an expert in the Law wanting to narrow his responsibility in the eyes of the Lord. If only a few are really neighbors, then only a little is required when God says to love our neighbor. He was looking for a reduction in the requirement, an easier way out.

We often do the same thing. We want God to define for us the limits of our love and compassion and mercy. But God will not define limits for our love because His love has no limits. He does choose to judge people, of course, but, unlike ours, His judgments are righteous and untainted by sin. Only He knows the right time for them. The vastness of His compassion, however, is enough to cover every person on the planet, and He calls us to be like Him. That means loving in the extreme, forgiving in the extreme, and sacrificing in the extreme. Can we do that? No. But He can do that in us and through us.

Let Him live in you without limits. Let Him open your eyes to a world of neighbors.

The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

Luke 10:29