Christian Devotional – February 15, 2022

The Essential Jesus, Day 46

Who is my neighbor? As we look at day 46 of the Essential Jesus reading plan on YouVersion.com, Jesus shares the familiar story of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:25-37.

As we think through the question, who is my neighbor, many answers have come to mind over the years. Of course, Jesus’s point is that everyone is our neighbor and we are to be treating everyone the way we treat ourselves.

So, how do we treat ourselves? What characteristics of that should translate to the way we treat our neighbor? And, why is that different than the way we treat other people?

For me, one of the biggest areas I have seen a difference in is the area of intention. I know my intention behind my actions. I realize that maybe things didn’t work out the way I expected them to, but I intended those actions to mean something specific. I don’t always allow for the intention of others when I think about their actions. Do I allow them grace, knowing that they probably have a lot of things going on in their life too and can’t keep up with everything? Do I recognize they wanted to be a certain place or to do a certain thing, but life got in the way? Do I assume that they have the same struggles and the same difficulties that I that I am going through in my own life? Sometimes treating our neighbor like ourselves is allowing them the grace and the mercy that we give ourselves each day. How do you treat your neighbor?