Do you love your neighbor?

There was a game we would play with our friends or in youth group with this title.

It simply goes, everyone gets in a circle except a person in the middle standing.

That person goes up to someone, and asks, "Do you love your neighbor?"

If they say yes, everyone has to move one seat to their right.

If they say no, the person standing says, "Then who do you love?"

At this point in the game, the person replies something like, "I love people wearing sandals."

Everyone wearing sandals has to stand up and go to someone else's chair.

The person standing has a free shot to take a chair if available and leaving someone else to stand.

Do you love your neighbor, is a good game for learning names and trying to have a little fun.

When we think about this in real life, how well do we know our neighbors?

How well do we know what's going on with our neighbors?

Who are considered our neighbors?

Jesus tells the parable of the Good Samaritan.

He sums up what one has to do to get eternal life in Luke 10:27…

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all you mind; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'

A person wondered who is my neighbor.

Jesus tells them a story about a man (A Jew) who gets beat up and left with no ability to get help.

Two people pass by this man in help.

Finally a third walks by.

The third person is a Samaritan.

Samaritans and Jews do not get along.

Yet this man sees this person and helps him out.

Takes care of him, takes him to an Inn to rest and get treatment and pays for it all.

Their people were enemies yet this man helped him out for no reason.

This is a neighbor.

Someone who sees a person struggling and helps them out.

How often do we help someone out?

If there is someone in need, what do we do to help that person?

Are we the person to ignore them?

Or are we the person to help them out?

In the story above, it was a rival who helped the other person out.

Are we willing to do the same?

Who is your neighbor that needs help only you can offer.

This goes beyond just praying for them, this is about helping them out.

You can help someone overcome a problem in their life.

All you have to do is try.

Have a great day.