"LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR" Jesus answered very clearly in response to the world's most essential question; "What's the most important part of life?" This profound answer was spoken second, right after the number 1 most important part of life: "LOVE GOD."
So there they are, the two most important parts of life--love God, love people.
Good news! Love is still God's top and only priority.
For the first decade of my adult life, my days were full of Buddhist people in Thailand, women working in prostitution in Hong Kong, kids singing Telegu songs in India, and more recently, new friends on drugs, getting off drugs, or done with drugs in Kentucky. The point is, there was variety.
Now I live in a single-wide trailer in a cornfield in southern Illinois, and as I look around at the people who now fill my daily life, I see right-wing Republicans. That's great, because Jesus has told me to love right-wing Republicans. But know who else Jesus has told me to love? Liberal Democrats. And pacifists and green partiers and Libertarians. And folks from other lands who don't know or care about America's politics.
Humans vary in numerous ways; religion, history, bloodlines, age, personality, politics...
Maybe there's a way, but I haven't figured it out yet, how to love someone without sitting at a table with them, sharing a meal with them, and listening to them. It seems loving a person requires being with them, exchanging eye contact and perspectives.
If you've been wondering how to love your neighbor, or who "neighbor" is supposed to be, I've got more good news. Jesus tells us that clearly, too.
Jesus says my "neighbor" should be a person very different than me. In the story He told to hit this point home, He used a Samaritan and a Jew; two people with different cultures and world views who usually hated each other (it's in Luke 10:25-37 if you want to read it--I'd recommend every day).
Jesus indicates if we surround ourselves with people who think like us, believe like us, vote like us, look like us, we're missing huge aspects of love. During His stay on the earth as a Jewish man, He was always hanging out with and teaching about Samaritans.
So in the story He tells of how we're supposed to love our neighbor, a Samaritan is the hero. The "Good Samaritan" who helps the Jewish man who was beat up and laying on the road--he didn't preach at him. Didn't tell him how wrong he was or try to correct him or start an argument about their different views. He just picked him up, put him on his own donkey and took him to a hotel, paid for his stay, and paid for his medical bills.
At the end of the story, Jesus says, "So go love like that."
My Dad has been in Heaven for 103 days. Our days continue to involve mourning him and celebrating him and as I'm asking God to teach me how to succeed at the 2nd most important part of life, He keeps using Dad to teach me.
Dad was always putting his arms around people who spoke different languages than him, with different colored skin than his, with varied cultures and orientations and incomes--and then calling them family.
Because Dad was a lot like God.
If we take a survey of the individuals filling our days, what do we find those humans to be like? Quite similar to us? Are we actively be-friending anyone who believes, acts, looks, votes, talks differently than we do?
Jesus, teach us how to love.
"Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?" The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him." Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."
-Luke 10:25-37