Friday, March 23, 2012

Going For Bangladeshi Party Tomorrow (Reflections from Luke 10: 25-47

Tomorrow our Sunday school is joining some Bangladeshi workers for a fun fair.

Why do this? What are we proving? Does it even matter?

The answer lies in an interesting conversation where two questions were asked:

Here, a lawyer asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?”

And Jesus replied, "Wrong question - we should instead ask: Am I a neighbor?”

What is a "neighbor"?

Not the priest or Levite.

Like the lawyer, they had the "theology" and knowledge, but they didn’t care, didn't love, were too busy with their ordered lives.

It was the Samaritan.

He was probably not of the same race as the man in need. Might not have known a lot of Bible. But he interrupted his "journey", stopped and cared.

Who is my neighbor today? The one I can help. The one I could avoid and nobody would question. The one everyone is avoiding.

To love a neighbor, one has to be: Compassionate (v 33). Color blind (v 33). Cross culture (v 33). “Come” to the person (v34). Won’t be Convenient (v35). May Cost us (v 35). May not get Compensated (v 35).

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love the ocean - God made it for Himself

About Me

In the Old Testament in the Bible, there was a man named Jacob who "wrestled with God and man." He wouldn't let God go until God answered his prayers. God admired that and renamed him Israel, "the one who fought or wrestled and prevailed". He fought with man--his inner man--and conquered his own weaknesses. He's my hero. He is what I hope God and man see me to be.