LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark

"21 "Do not mistreat an alien or oppress him, for you were aliens in Egypt." Exodus 22:21

Have you ever been alienated or oppressed at some time in your life? If so, you’ll agree that it isn’t a very pleasant experience. Since the first days of humanity as recorded in the scriptures, we see examples of people who were mistreated and ostracized simply because they were of a different nationality or religious persuasion. Israel, for example, had suffered through 430 years of oppression and alienation at the hands of the Egyptians and were now on their way to Canaan when God addresses them at Mount Sinai with His commands and expectations. As we see in today’s verse, God rejected mistreatment and oppression of aliens, an advance warning to Israel as they were about to encounter people who were not of their nationality or religion. Notice where God reminds Israel of their alienation and persecution at the hands of Egypt hoping they would not decide to do unto others as they had been treated when they were in like circumstances.

Fast forward to today and we see the problem of alienation is alive within the discussion about illegal immigration, a topic that seems to be in the news nearly every day. A large majority of society has decided to turn exclusionary and deem that others don’t have a right to live among us unless they gain citizenship. In other words, they have to prove that they are worthy of living in our nation before we will give them approval to do so. And there is this underlying fear that we will somehow get short changed if we let too many "others" into our country. It’s this pompous attitude of superiority and selfishness that has proven to divide us more than unite us as God’s people. After all, what right does anyone have to mistreat and oppress anyone when they’re just trying to do what we are trying to do…have a decent life day after day?

Sometimes I wonder how God must feel about us and the way we treat others, especially the aliens of the world today. I wonder even more when I read what His only Son, our Savior Jesus, said in His second greatest commandment, "Love your neighbor as yourself." Do we really do this? Well, one might first ask the question, "Who is our neighbor?" Great question and one that others had in the bible as well. And, as always, Jesus had the answer. Consider this passage:

"But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.' "Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?" The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him." Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise." Luke 10:29-37

Question: Who would you be in this parable? The priest or the Levite, two people most expected to stop and render assistance but didn’t choosing instead to leave the man for dead while passing on the other side? Or would you be like the Gentile Samaritan…the one least expected to do something good but yet was the one who showed mercy, compassion and saved the man’s life? Jesus not only said that we are a true neighbor if we imitate the actions of the Samaritan but He commanded us to do likewise. Notice there are no exceptions here. We’re expected to show mercy and compassion to everyone who is down and out…whether suffering from destitution or left for dead.

In the final analysis, we all have an innate desire and need to be accepted, loved and treated fairly. God not only expects that we receive this but Jesus commanded us to give it, loving our neighbors as ourselves and treating them with mercy, caring and compassion.

Question: How do you feel about those who would be considered aliens in our society today? What can you do to treat them as the Lord commands? We all should examine ourselves, change attitudes where needed and do what we can to make difference whenever we can.

One more point to cap this devotion. Go to Paul’s letter to the Colossians, Chapter 1, where he writes:

"Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation—if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel." Colossians 1:21-23

You see we were all aliens, and not just mere aliens but alienated from God at one time… oppressed and captive to the sins that were set to destroy us. But then God did something incredible. Instead of watching us stay alienated and oppressed, He gave up His only Son Jesus as a sin sacrifice and set us free through an amazing display of mercy, compassion, grace and love. In short, He set us free through Jesus and if the Son has set us free, we are free indeed. (John 8:36)

As we continue to reflect on Jesus and how we might live more like Him this Lenten season, let’s give particular attention to the way we treat others, especially those the world would want to label as aliens…remembering that we all were aliens before Jesus died for us. Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift.

In Christ,

Mark

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