Luke 10
On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “What is written in the Law?” He replied. “How do you read it?” He answered, “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’ “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 NIV
In this parable, Jesus teaches us what it means to love your neighbor, and gives us a practical example of what it looks like. When we see someone in need, we should understand that he/she was placed in our path for a reason. We must avoid the temptation to make excuses for not getting involved, and should try to find practical ways to help him/her. The apostle John wrote: “If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?” (1 John 3:17). Does this mean that we have to help everyone we see who has a need? Unfortunately, we all have limited time and resources, so it is impossible to help every needy person we see. When it is unclear whether we should get involved with a situation and help someone, we need to turn to prayer and to listen to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Pray for wisdom regarding who to help, when to help, and the best way to be of assistance. If you decide not to help someone, but then that person keeps returning to your thoughts, you may be being prompted to reconsider. Jesus is reminding us today that we should actually be looking for someone to help. So remember how the Samaritan helped his neighbor, and “Go and do likewise” (verse 37).
As Jesus and His disciples were on their way, He came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to Him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what He said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to Him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:38-42 NIV
There are two different ways we can respond when our Lord is trying to spend time with us. We can choose to respond either like Martha or like Mary. If your response resembles Martha’s, then you will be busy and distracted by your workload, and will not be able to take advantage of the wonderful opportunity to spend time with your Creator. If you choose to behave like Mary, you will temporarily put your responsibilities aside and will voluntarily stop what you are doing in order to spend quality time with God. Jesus was not upset with Martha, but He did point out that her priorities were not in the right order. We cannot make the mistake of trying to work Him into our busy schedules. We need to make Jesus our first priority, and work our schedules around our time with Him. This will look a little different for each of us, but we all need to spend regular, quality time with God. Some of us may need to wake up a little earlier and take time each morning to read God’s Word and spend time in prayer. Others may be able to find time in the evening by cutting back on activities such as watching TV, playing video games, spending time online, etc. Still others may be able to use lunch breaks, or other times during the day to stop and spend time focusing on Him. The important thing to remember is that Jesus wants to be involved in every aspect of our lives, so make sure to stay in touch with Him throughout the day. He needs to be the center of your life! The more you mature as a Christian, the more willing you will be to let go of worldly distractions in favor of making time for the Lord. Spending quality, undistracted, regular time with God will lead to your thoughts, words and actions reflecting Him. In the book of Revelation, Jesus speaks to a church full of Christians who were no longer spending time with Him and felt that they did not need Him any more. He said: “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear My voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends” (Revelation 3:20). Jesus wants a relationship with each and every one of us. Our part is to open our hearts to Him and accept His invitation. From there, we need to be diligent in studying His Word, and spending quality time with Him in order to further develop and strengthen the relationship.