"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?” (v. 26) 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!” (v. 29) The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" (Luke 10:25-27 NLT)Notice especially verse 26, in response to the question. Another translation of verse 26 reads this way: "He answered, "What's written in God's Law? How do you interpret it?" (MSG)
It appears that Jesus is trying very hard to get this fellow to think about it himself. He wanted him to draw some conclusions, which he worked out by himself!
Lots of folks today really don't like to do that! They prefer to be told the meaning or interpretation, which avoids (1) the necessity of thinking for themselves or (2) that they might have to take an unpopular stand and received some criticism. It's always easier when someone else give us the answer, because it gives us somewhere to "point the finger of blame," rather than accept responsibility ourselves.
You may have heard this story before, but it makes a valuable illustration of the point. It seems that a minister decided that a visual demonstration would add emphasis to his Sunday sermon. Four worms were placed into four separate jars.
1. The first worm was put into a container of alcohol.
2. The second worm was put into a container of cigarette smoke.
3. The third worm was put into a container of chocolate syrup.
4. The fourth worm was put into a container of good clean soil.
At the conclusion of the sermon, the Minister noted the following results:
1. The first worm in alcohol...Dead.
2. The second worm in cigarette smoke...Dead.
3. Third worm in chocolate syrup...Dead.
4. Fourth worm in good clean soil...Alive .
4. The fourth worm was put into a container of good clean soil.
At the conclusion of the sermon, the Minister noted the following results:
1. The first worm in alcohol...Dead.
2. The second worm in cigarette smoke...Dead.
3. Third worm in chocolate syrup...Dead.
4. Fourth worm in good clean soil...Alive .
So the Minister asked the congregation, (Just like Jesus) … "What did you learn from this demonstration?"
An Older church member was sitting in the back, quickly raised her hand and said; here is what I see: "As long as you drink, smoke and eat chocolate, you won't have worms!"
An Older church member was sitting in the back, quickly raised her hand and said; here is what I see: "As long as you drink, smoke and eat chocolate, you won't have worms!"
I'm pretty sure that was not the lesson the minister had in mind when he made the demonstration. I believe he was trying to make the point that there are some things which are bad for the body. However the church member interpreted the lesson so that she wasn't inconvenienced by possibly having to give up something she liked. (Before you write me ladies, the issue of whether chocolate is really toxic or not, is not the point of the story either, but it does drown worms!)
Jesus answered the man's question and told him simply, "Do this and live". The passage in Luke 10:29 shows us the man's response. Jesus told him nothing complicated, nothing difficult, nothing hard to understand. He just told him to do what you already know you should do, but the man wanted to get in the last word.
We are told: "The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" I really like the modern translation of this particular verse that says, "Looking for a loophole, he asked, "And just how would you define 'neighbor'?" (MSG)
Far too often I've seen the exact same reasoning among folks I talk with. They understand the message of God's Word; they just don't want to do what he says. They are "looking for a loophole," looking for a way to get around doing what God says, or living the way he says they should live.
James deals with this problem in James 4:17 where he writes, "Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it." (NLT)
So where are you in your search for truth? I believe that it's not the things that we don't know or understand that really bother most of us. It is living up to what we already know we should be doing that gives us the most problems. Perhaps it's time to ask yourself how much you resemble the man in the story which Luke records. Maybe it's time to stop looking for loopholes and start doing what we already know we should. The challenge is to bring our daily living into line with what we say we believe!
Russ Lawson, Messages From The Heart
