Loving the Neighbor (Luke 10:25-37)
Gary McManus, 02/01/2015Part of the Words that Divide, Words that Unite series, preached at a Sunday Morning service
Know what you believe.
What we believe draws us together AND
separates us from others. God’s word divides and unites.
No one can serve TWO masters. (Matthew 6:24)
We are Christians; not Buddhists, not Muslims,
not Jews, not anything else. We can’t be.
AND WE are ONE in Jesus Christ.
[Romans 15:6, Ephesians 4:5-6, 1 Corinthians 8:6]
Last time we discovered that even God’s love and
generosity divides people.
God sends rain on church going farmers’ fields
and the fields of farmers who beat their wives and
cheat others.
That is how good, loving and compassionate God is.
God’s love divides us when we become followers of Jesus. . .
Jesus tells us to love others. . .
God’s love is radical.
We feel that it is TOO extravagant to pray for the enemy.
But Jesus KNEW that the love of God and
its practice was a hard sell. . .(Jesus’ story)
[The Lost Son; Luke 15:11-32]
Vs.31 “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always
with me, and everything I have is yours.”
Short answer:
We may find it difficult to love. . .but we have heaven.
Jesus KNEW he was asking a lot of us to love others.
In today’s story, Jesus turns the tables.
The usual answer for Jesus’ people was to love people
who are close to you. . .family, friends, fellow Jews.
(Matthew 5:43-4)
But Jesus makes the hero of his story a Samaritan
instead of a Jew.
The Jews in the story come out looking like
religious slackers.
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.” Mercy!
Have you asked for MERCY for your enemy?
Have I asked MERCY for my enemies?
I am separating myself from others AND
I am distancing myself from Jesus.
To show mercy is to FOLLOW Jesus.
We are not called to be fans of Jesus.
We are called to FOLLOW.
Loving others is echoed 18 times in the New Testament.
[See Romans 12:10 and Romans 13:8 ]
1 Peter 1:22. . . “love one another deeply, from the heart.”
So, I’m not focused enough on how Jesus LOVES me.
I need to pray to get that MORE.
I need to THINK about Jesus’ love for me MORE.
I need to GO and do likewise.
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