Loving Others Through the Love of Christ

By: Lila Lowery

The Parable of the Good Samaritan

"25 And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” 27 And he answered, “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.” 28 And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.” 29 But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. 32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 And the next day he took out two denarii[a] and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ 36 Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” 37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.” (Luke 10: 25-37)

As popular as this parable is today, it must have been a surprise to those who heard Jesus say it. Samaritans and Jews were enemies for a long time, so the thought of one helping another could seem unbelievable. But, Jesus calls us to break standards. Most Samaritans would probably have never helped a Jew, and now, most people would never love their adversaries. But as Christians, we are called to be different. God’s love is radical, and breaks our expectations of what we think it should be. But that is what makes it so great. It was not logical that the Son of God would die for humankind, but He did anyway. We might not think it makes sense to love someone who has hurt us, but it is what we are called to do.

The lawyer in this passage knew what God expected from Him, to love God and love his neighbors. But, he didn’t know what the word ‘neighbor’ entailed. Surely, neighbors are just my friends, people I am close to? Nope, it is everyone. A neighbor is a person living with or near you, maybe in the same apartment building or street. But, we all live on earth. And we all have the choice of eternal life. If you think about it like this, all of us are in this life together. We face different things, live through different moments, but we are interconnected by the fact that all of us are loved by one God. As Christians, we should try our best to make heaven crowded. God revealed to each of us His life changing love, and we are called to let other people know it as well. Really think about that. God, Creator of the universe, gave us the opportunity to spread His precious love. The love that gave us salvation, the love that saved the world. We should jump at the chance to spread His love! And we can do this by showing our neighbors mercy.  

This can be extremely difficult, and is something I struggle with. How can I forgive everything this person did, and all of the hurt they have put me through? But we have to take ourselves out of the equation. It doesn’t matter what I think of someone. What does Jesus think of them? Jesus loves them and wants a relationship with them. As Christians, we are representations of Christ. And obviously, we will never be perfect, and we will mess up, we are humans. But, we are also called to do better than we have before and try our hardest. To represent Christ to people, we have to love them as He does. The radical, groundbreaking kind of love. The love that is persistent and doesn’t keep score. If someone is negative and hateful towards you, respond with compassion and mercy. We don’t have the authority to pick and choose who should receive God’s love. All we are called to do is show it. To help those whom we don’t want to help. To forgive those whom we don’t want to forgive. And to love those whom we don’t want to love. We have to set aside our own emotions and thoughts and take on the role of being a light. Shining Christ’s love towards someone, and hoping they do the same. 

But even if those around us do not show this radical love to us, we are called to be merciful. Think of your enemies, people who you have been betrayed, insulted, and ignored by. To you, this is all they are. But to God, they are beloved children who have gone astray. Pray for them. That they find God’s love and start spreading it, because that is how you inherit eternal life.

As said in the passage, we are to love God and our neighbors. This might seem like two different things, but they are truly one. We can love God through loving our neighbors. By loving those who are loved by Christ, we are loving Christ Himself.

So, next time you are angered and annoyed by your enemies, remember how much Jesus loves them and how Jesus entrusted us to share His love.