Who Is My Neighbour?

Read Luke 10:25–37

This story is about a guy who gets attacked and left on the side of the road. A priest and a Levite see him but kept walking. Then a Samaritan (someone the Jews didn’t like) stops, helps the man and goes out of his way to make sure he’s okay.

Jesus shared this parable because an expert in the law (who is Jewish) asks Jesus, ‘What do I need to do to get eternal life?’ Jesus, being Jesus, responded with a question (he did that a lot). So, the expert found the right answer, which was the verse from Scripture ‘Love the Lord your God with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind and Love your neighbour as yourself’. 

The expert then asks, ‘Who is my neighbour?’

Jesus tells him about the Samaritan, showing that loving your neighbour doesn’t just mean loving people who are easy to love—it means loving anyone, even the people who might seem hard to love, or the ones who don’t like you.

Jesus is saying, love your neighbour, even when it’s uncomfortable or difficult. 

When we love others, it also shows our love to Jesus. 

Our actions (including our giving), combined with God’s love, can turn strangers into brothers and sisters.

• Who in your life feels hard to love? How can you take one small step to show kindness or compassion to that person?

• How might your school, church or community be different if everyone loved their neighbours like the Samaritan loved the wounded man?

This week, intentionally show kindness to someone who you wouldn’t normally think of as a ‘neighbour’. It could be someone who’s different from you or someone you usually avoid. Take that extra step and love them like Jesus would. 

God, thank you that you love us. We pray that you would help us to love the people around us, even those that feel hard to love. Thank you that when we show love to our neighbour, we are showing love to you. Please show us who you might want us to love this week. In Jesus’ name, Amen.