“Let Love Rule” Part 2
Loving Your Neighbor
Last week Jeremy introduced a theme for our discussion would be about this year. The theme is “Let Love Rule.” 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 says, “For Christ’s love compels us because we are convinced that one died for all and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.”
This verse is going to be a key one for us this year. Basically, this verse says that we love people because we know how deeply Jesus loves us. Because of that deep love Jesus died so that we could stop living in our stories and start living in God’s powerful story.
We learned last week that it isn’t easy to love. There are lots of days I know I don’t feel like loving anyone especially people who are different from me. But just because it’s hard does not excuse us from showing love to others.
In what’s known as “the Great Commandment,” Jesus said in Matthew 22:37-40 that we should “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind…” and to “love your neighbor as yourself.” In other words, a huge part of loving God is loving others, even those you normally wouldn’t.
In Luke 10:29, a man who wanted to learn how to have eternal life asked Jesus “Who is my neighbor?” In other words, He wanted to know how little he could do, or exactly who he had to treat nicely, in order to please God. Jesus answered with a story known as the parable of the Good Samaritan. I’m going to have a few of you read it out loud for us, but before we do, let me ask any of you:
· Have you ever been helped by a complete stranger? What happened?
· Have you ever helped a complete stranger? What happened?
Have a few students read the parable of the Good Samaritan from the slides:
One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: “Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?”
Jesus replied, “What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?”
The man answered, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
“Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!”
The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
Jesus replied with a story: “A Jewish man was traveling on a trip from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road. By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. A Temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side. Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’ Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked.
The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.”
Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”
Ask the group and allow a few to share:
· Why do you think Jesus answered the question “And who is my neighbor?” with this story?
· For what reasons do you think the Priest or the Temple Assistant didn’t help the hurt man?
· If you had been traveling down the road and saw the hurt man, what would you have done?
· What do you think the main point of Jesus’ story is?
Jesus was making the clear point that ANYONE and EVERYONE is our neighbor, and God wants us to go further than just help our neighbor, He wants us to LOVE our neighbor!
Loving soemone doesn’t necesarrily mean being their best friend or even knowing them, but it does mean that we look out for others and try to do what’s best for them. When we do this, it can make a huge impact. Think about some of the students here at our school and what they might be going through:
The football player who lines up on the field every week to show his strength, but he actually feels really weak. Around school he is one of the tough guys, but maybe at home he feels weak and lonely. He watches his mom get beat up and then he’s next. Nobody knows what is really going on in his life. He feels scared, weak and all alone.
Or the “weird” girl who is dresses different and sits across the street at lunchtime smoking. She’s addicted to cigarettes, addicted to being different, addicted to more than you know. Her whole life has been given away to fulfilling the next addiction. Why? Because the truth of her life is too painful to face without a substance. She covers her hurts at home, at school, and with her friends by giving into addiction. She wants out but she is too far in now. Her cries for help are covered up by her addiction.
Or the student who parks her car in the student parking lot everyday and then waits. She sits in her car and waits. She is afraid to go inside. People don’t notice her or make time for her. She waits here until the last possible second and then goes inside for school. At lunch she slips out here to her car to be alone. She isn’t sure if anyone notices her or wants her. She is so lonely she can’t even imagine who she would ask for help. She may even wonder who would notice if she were gone.
Or the guy in this art class. He as an eye for design. But deep inside he thinks he has been a big mistake. He often feels like he can’t tell anybody the truth…So he hides behind his art, all the time thinking someone messed up on designing him. Who will he tell? Surely they will all make fun of him. Who will help him?
These stories are made up, but you and I know that there are students here that are dealing with these sorts of things every day. These are your neighbors, and as someone who loves God, you have a responsibility to show people that they do matter and that there is hope because God loves us no matter what. When you take a step away from focusing on yourself and your friends and reach out in love to your fellow students, you could be the one, like the good Samaritan, to show love and help your neighbors here at this school. It’s not easy, but it’s worth it!
So let’s go out there and “Let Love Rule” in us so that we can show that love to others.