For a description of the (Y2) reading plan, see the “About” page.
Luke 10
Who is your neighbor? How are you showing mercy to them? Interesting how Jesus answered this law expert’s question. In asking, “And who is my neighbor?”, the law expert wanted to know who he was expected to love. But Jesus’ answer wasn’t about the man being loved. The “neighbor” in His story was the one showing love. Jesus could have just said that your neighbor was anybody in need. Or even just “anybody”. Why, then, tell a story that flips the question around?
I’m not sure I have the answer to that. I think it’s a pretty safe bet, however, that this law expert saw himself as better and more righteous than the ‘common folk’. He figured surely there would be limitations on who was worthy of his love. And so Jesus portrayed one who would be among the least likely to be loved by such a ‘righteous’ man – a Samaritan – as the one showing mercy to the non-descript man in need, making him a neighbor to that man. To me, Jesus told the law man two things with this story. One, who and what somebody is has no factor in determining whether or not we should love them. And two, we should care more about doing the right thing toward others than about whether or not they deserve it.
Gen 19-20
Why do you think Lot and his family hesitated to leave? What can you learn about your own tendencies? When Lot first separated from Abraham to settle in the land, he “pitched his tents near Sodom” (Gen. 13:12b). Now we find him living in the city and “sitting in the gateway”. I don’t know all of the implications of that, but I think it’s safe to say that he was, at this point, pretty well entrenched in the city of Sodom.
Apparently, God still found some righteousness in Lot, because He did not destroy him. I’d say God’s judgment came just in the nick of time for Lot. While he had not yet completely turned away from God, the wicked ways of the world were sinking their clutches into his heart. He moved from the perimeter to the heartbeat of the city of Sodom. And he was not uncomfortable there. We know this because he hesitated to leave. He was getting attached. His wife was farther along than he was and she looked back. His sons-in-law were so far gone they didn’t even believe. And Lot was giving his daughters to these men! How much longer would it have been before none of them remembered God at all?
Once again, this points to the importance of intentional living. We may not see any harm in one small step, one innocent look to the left or to the right. But how do we know which small step is the step too far? We don’t. We can’t. The only solution is to very intentionally keep our eyes steadfastly on God and our feet securely in the center of His path.