As I sit and ponder
     the things Jesus taught.
I like to consider
     that I do what I ought.
About His commandments,
     if the point He should raise.
Would I say I have followed
     them all of my days?
To care for my neighbor
     as He says I should.
Would I ask who that is,
     thinking I’m pretty good?

Jesus tells us a story
     of a man just like me.
He lived a good life
     but he wanted to see.
So he went to ask Jesus
     and to Him he did call.
Which of the commandments
     is the greatest of all?
Jesus turned it back to him,
     the question he sought.
And the man answered rightly
     with what he’d been taught.

But the man wasn’t happy
     with the answer he got.
So he raised a new question,
     who’s a neighbor, who’s not?
Jesus tells him a story
     of a man who is hurt.
He is beat up and robbed,
     left to die in the dirt.
The “good” folks do pass him
     as they make their path wide.
Then a Samaritan helps him
     and gives him a ride.

At the end of the story,
     Jesus turns the question around.
Who was the neighbor
     to the man on the ground?
As the man answers Jesus,
     the point he does get.
The one that’s a neighbor
     made sure needs were all met.
So what will you do
     when you think you’re that good?
Will you live like a neighbor
     to all as you should?
©

I’ve been praying lately about my response to situations and seeking wisdom in giving proper responses, not ones simply designed to justify myself. This poem came from a combination of those prayer times and the time I’m spending in the gospel of Luke for the sermon series I am preaching. I pray that this ministers to you and I in the way God desires for it to.

In prayer,
Tom