Love Your Neighbor

Timmy Brister:

What I learn from Jesus is that loving my neighbor is not what I think it would be nor is it what I would prefer it to be.  The generosity that stemmed from the broken heart of this Good Samaritan did not originate at the moment of the need.  It merely surfaced when the opportunity arose.  And I am realizing that I cannot love my neighbor with such mercy-driven generosity when the opportunity is before me without a heart that is liberated from self-justification and bubbling in compassion out of brokenness for others.  Simply put, if the heart is not prepared, the opportunity will be spared.

My prayer is that I will not arbitrate between God and my neighbor out of convenience or comfort but abandon myself and my petty agendas to the radical call to love my neighbor well.  Join me in this battle against indifference, to love deeply, obey sincerely, and give sacrificially that our neighbors might become more than neighbors, but family as well.

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