Today is National Good Neighbor Day.
Jesus’ parable from Luke chapter 10 echoes in my mind. Go to Scripture and read the story in context if you like: Luke 10:25-37.
“And who is my neighbor?”
This question sparked the parable of the good Samaritan.
With a short story about a Jewish man—who was waylaid by robbers and left for dead—and a Samaritan man who showed him mercy and kindness, Jesus flips the expected narrative upside down and redefines our concept of “neighbor.”
Our neighbors aren’t just the people we picture when the word comes to mind. They’re not just our friends and family members. They’re not just the people we think should be our neighbors or the people we think deserve our mercy and kindness. They’re not even just the people who live next door.
Those people are our neighbors, but those pictures in our heads—those definitions—are too narrow. Our God shows us otherwise.
Our neighbors are the people we don’t picture in our heads when the word comes to mind. They’re not our friends and family members. They’re the people we think shouldn’t be our neighbors or the people we think don’t deserve our mercy and kindness. What’s the overlap with our previous definition? They might be the people who live next door.
There’s an unspoken question prompted after hearing Jesus’ parable of the good Samaritan: Who isn’t our neighbor?
The answer? There’s no one in this world who isn’t our neighbor. No one who doesn’t need our mercy and kindness.
Everyone is our neighbor.
Yet, so often, we cling to our old, sinful ways of thought. We ignore Jesus’ definition of “neighbor” and his expectations for how we are to live and act. So often, we fail to show love to our neighbors—or even acknowledge their need to hear the gospel message.
In those moments, thank God for Jesus and his love for us—we who should’ve never been considered neighbors in his eyes. We were his enemies. We deserved nothing from him but death and punishment for our sins.
As Paul puts it so beautifully in his letter to the Romans, “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
Not only for us—but for the whole world.
Every person with whom we interact in this life is someone for whom Jesus lived, bled, and died. Every person is someone to whom Jesus offers forgiveness of sins and life everlasting. Every person is someone for whom God has shown love—love we get to share with others.
It’s what good neighbors do.
Sharing our faith isn’t easy—even though it’s something we want to do! For resources to prepare you to answer questions about your faith and share your faith with others, check out Prepared to Answer (and More Prepared to Answer) by Pastor Mark Paustian.
Alex Brown is the marketing and content copywriter at Northwestern Publishing House. He has his Master of Divinity degree from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary and enjoys reading, writing, and spending time in God’s creation.