S
Sissy
Guest
Good passage to ponder upon because between the priest and the Levite and and the Samaritan only one was deemed a neighbor.
L
L.B.
Guest
One a friend and one a foe: one to usurp what God intended and one to be a true neighbour, knowing their need for a remedy in Christ!
Thanks Siss: good line of enquiry.
A
Arial
Guest
Is that what those are called? And what are they? They look very, very sweet.Sugar clouds!
Now I want some
S
Sissy
Guest
Down here in the South we call it Divinity Candy.
They are heavenly! Fluffy and very sweet.
A
Arial
Guest
I love this song, but we need to be getting over thinking we need to be fully understood of fully understand, or that such a thing is possible or necessary, and just let people be themselves and appreciate them as they are, and if we can't move on. But for an interlude of pleasant entertainment.
A
Arial
Guest
Ahh. Divinity. My mother used to make it at Christmas or maybe it was Easter.Maybe both. It was good but---- if it isn't chocolate, it's not for me.
S
Sissy
Guest
One could ask ...........
since the command is to love your neighbor, and only one of the 3 men was a neighbor to injured man, then was the injured man supposed to love the other two guys?
L
L.B.
Guest
Ahhh: hard to love... in that context.... does it take a repentant heart for we humans to feel moved in such contexts!
A
Arial
Guest
Good question, and exploring it may give a greater understanding of what scripture means by love. Pretty hard to love a couple of snotty, self righteous men who leave you laying in a ditch to die!
A
Arial
Guest
When Jesus said to love your neighbor, in order to know what that means, we have to know what He meant. Which is a tough one, since there are so many shadings of love, and many of them wrong. Jesus was maybe referencing the love God has for His creatures, and making a point that even though we are to love both Him and others in that way, as God's image bearers, we cannot, because God's love is perfect and does not ebb and flow? Just as Jesus said to be perfect, but we cannot.
Or----is it a matter of not holding against the two who left him in a ditch, their atrocious behavior and attitude, but recognizing them as creatures of God, who just like himself, are living in darkness and more often than not, acting like it? And being willing to extend mercy to them, just as God was merciful to him. If he saw them lying in a ditch, or thirsty or hungry, he would meet their needs. Rather than pass them by, doing unto them as they had done unto him.
S
Sissy
Guest
Yep.
In the context of the story "love" may have something to do with being grateful.
The only man of the three that saw the injured man was the only one the fallen man could feel grateful towards.
Notice that the fallen man was not the one that provided the necessary help that was needed for the fallen man to be healed.
It was only the one man that did.
In other words, it wasn't tit-for-tat.
We, as fallen men, do not provide anything for our salvation.
Only God does.
Love (be grateful towards) the Lord with all your heart.
A
APAK
Guest
This example Jesus chose of 'the good Samaritan' as in other examples of loving our neighbor is one that is demonstrated in real life and not just requiring a mental attitude of demonstrating love. Jesus is emphasizing love expressed in action, spontaneous heartfelt love that required very little mental debate. In fact hesitation many times is a sign of fake and a type of resistive love. It must come from the heart to action. The highest form of love as we know is agape sacrificial love.
And we cannot know the love of that man for the other two men who never offered him assistance. We would know if the shoe was on the other foot and his turn came to help someone however. Would he hesitate and especially if others were standing in front of him who saw another person on the street in need. Would he say to himself, 'well if that person if front of me does not help then maybe that other person will. I'll just wait and maybe I will help or just leave the scene right now.'