Luke 10:25-29
An expert in the Law of Moses stood up and asked Jesus a question to see what he would say. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to have eternal life?"
Jesus answered, "What is written in the Scriptures? How do you understand them?" The man replied, "The Scriptures say, `Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind.' They also say, `Love your neighbors as much as you love yourself.' “
Jesus said, "You have given the right answer. If you do this, you will have eternal life." But the man wanted to show that he knew what he was talking about. So he asked Jesus, "Who are my neighbors?"
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
“What’s the catch?” How many times do we ask someone this question? We have become skeptical about so many things. And often, when someone tells us something, we wonder what the hidden agenda is… where is the loophole? There must be an angle… another meaning or motive.
So when this scholar asked Jesus about Eternal Life, he gave the scriptural answer for how to obtain it… and then he basically added, “… but what’s the real answer?” He asked Jesus to define this “neighbor” we are to love as we love ourselves. And if you read the rest of this passage, you will discover the story we know as that of “the Good Samaritan” who treated a complete stranger with love and kindness, just as he would have his own brother.
The point I want us to get today is that we often know the answer, but we still look for the loophole. We know what Jesus wants from us… but we’re looking for a “catch” or an excuse, or another interpretation that better suits our agenda. “Yes, LORD, you told us to love our neighbor as we love ourselves… but you didn’t mean poor people, did you? Surely you didn’t mean people who are gay or those who are Muslim! LORD, you were only talking about upper middle class white Americans, right?” Or we justify our behavior by saying, “But LORD, if I talked to someone the way that person talked to me, I would not feel good about myself… so surely you don’t mean for me to love him/her after the things that were said!”
We justify our sins by saying, “But I do love you, LORD… even if I did do such-and-such. It really has nothing to do with my faith!” What we don’t seem to grasp is that loving God with all our heart, soul, strength and mind means never doing anything that would disappoint Him… or cause our “neighbor” to falter… or showing disrespect for God, His children, or even His planet – in any manner! That’s painting with a broad brush… but that’s exactly what Jesus did! Still, we look for the loophole… we don’t believe He was talking about us… and we attempt to do as we please.
The time has come for us to step up to the plate and really hear what Jesus is saying in this passage… and take it at face value. No more arrogance… no more looking for a way around the truth or claiming that these commandments do not apply to us… they do! And the path to Eternal Life is clearly defined here. The question is… are we on this path? Are we following the commandments? Or are we still busy looking for a loophole?
©2011 Debbie Robus
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