Luke 10:37b
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”.
Scripture Insights
These powerful words are a direct challenge from Jesus given at the end of a story aimed to answer questions from an expert in the law who first asked Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. When he and Jesus agreed that the key was loving God and loving neighbor, the expert then persisted, asking Jesus who his neighbor was.
This is when Jesus launches into a story that reveals an unlikely hero—a Samaritan turns out to be the good guy in the story. The Samaritan, unlike the priest and the Levite, was the only one who acknowledged the need, ran to the need, and met the need of a man who had been robbed and left for dead. Jesus answers the question of who is a neighbor by illustrating what a good neighbor does. Good neighbors see needs, go toward needs, and meet needs.
Jesus is telling us how to bless our communities—by doing what this hero of the story did. See the need, move toward the need, meet the need. Go and do likewise!
Today’s Prayer
Jesus, help us be good neighbors by seeing needs, moving toward needs, and doing what we can to meet the needs in our communities. Teach us what it means to bless our communities today!
—Wynne Lankford
Lead Pastor, Southside Church (Virginia)
