Counsel #11 — Who Is My Neighbor?

Picture: Counsel #11 — Who Is My Neighbor?CCW 29.1

Our society often asks, “What’s the least I can do?” The Jews of Jesus’ time focused on maxims: “What commandments must I keep?” When a scribe asked Jesus about the greatest commandment, He replied with Deuteronomy 6:4 and added, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”^{[44]https://www.adventist.org/remnant-and-its-mission/mission/service/} For the Jews, “neighbor” meant fellow Jews, but Jesus redefined it. Your neighbor isn’t limited by nationality or culture—it’s anyone near you who needs God’s love. The Good Samaritan’s story demonstrates this. The robbed man’s own people passed him by, but the Samaritan, an outsider, became his true neighbor by showing God’s love in action.CCW 29.2

“And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:30, 31CCW 29.3

“Thus the question, ‘Who is my neighbor?’ is forever answered. Christ has shown that our neighbor does not mean merely one of the church or faith to which we belong. It has no reference to race, color, or class distinction. Our neighbor is every person who needs our help. Our neighbor is every soul who is wounded and bruised by the adversary. Our neighbor is everyone who is the property of God.” Ellen White in The Desire of Ages, p. 503CCW 29.4

Reflect: Who are the “neighbors” in your life? How are you showing God’s love to them?CCW 29.5