Why We Don't Like Christ's Commandment to Love Our Neighbor

Jesus' command to love our neighbor is ambiguous for a reason. It lacks particularity in order to keep us from taking the reigns of his Kingdom. It keeps us off of his throne. In our sin, this command makes us uneasy and so we pass it off as impractical. We need something more.

And so we tend to respond to the command, not with obedience, but with another question, "Who [particularly] is my neighbor?"

The question, while religious and with a perceived willingness to follow, is less than obedient, and is ultimately an attempt to keep control over our own life. We all do it. It is man's rebellious, but polite, attempt to tell Jesus "No." It is the kiss on his cheek, while we betray him in our hearts.

Consider a few points while we take a closer look at the man in Luke 10 who responded to Jesus this way.

First, we see man's sinful hesitation after receiving a clear command. Should Christ have spoken this command and immediately ascended, the man would never have had the opportunity to respond. He (apparently) would have been left without clarification, and thus with an excuse to dismiss the command altogether.

This would leave the man guiltless, not having enough information to obey. His lack of love would be Christ's fault, not his. And so the verse goes, "But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" (Luke 10:29).

Second, the desire for particularity turns Christian discipleship into a religious checklist, rather than a sacrificial lifestyle. You get the idea that, should Christ have responded, "That man over there is your neighbor", the man would have gone and done some good deed for him and considered his work done. As soon as the charity case seemed to have been freed from distress, the man would have considered himself freed from discipleship.

By then Christ would have been off to another town, and unable to physically give him another particular command. How convenient.

Third, Christ's command keeps Christ in control. Jesus, being the Sovereign Lord of the universe, who is in control, command, and who is always close (now by his Spirit in us), determines who our neighbor will be, when they will enter our lives, and how they will infect, inconvenience, and disturb us. It is almost as if he introduces them without us expecting or knowing. The man wanted to know who his neighbor was right then. Christ told him a story that left him feeling as if his life would be constantly threatened by the possibility of having to love.

The man would be completely dependent to know who to love, how to love, when to love, and why to love. He tried to trick Christ into submission. But Christ wrestled him down.

Fourth, Christ's command keeps us "not in control." Each and every one of us has neighbors. Those people are in our lives by his sovereign design. He chose them and their location, as he chose ours (Acts 17). They are the people we live around, work around, and do recreation around. They are also the people in need around us - the poor, the orphans, and the widows. Should we be left with our own imagination to determine a particular person to love, we would surely pick the easiest ones.

But Christ, being in control, places them in our lives. He knows who we need to love better than we do. And because the command is more ambiguous than we'd like, we are always dependent and at attention. We are always waiting the next neighborly introduction.

Fifth, the fact that this man [seemingly] didn't know who his neighbor was was indicative of his guilt, not an indication of his ignorant innocence. He should have known who his neighbor was. He was simply trying to remain innocent while unloving.

Similarly, if a particular person doesn't come to mind when we hear the word neighbor, we are in a dangerous situation. If we are not neighboring, we are not loving. If we are not loving, then we will ultimately be burning (John 15). The same goes with words like widow, orphan, and impoverished.

Finally, this command is the greatest blessing in our lives. Loving means dying. And in the Christian life, dying means truly living. As we go around frantically trying to save our lives, we are ultimately losing them. But, when we are at Christ's attention, loving those he places in our lives, we lose our life - and while this losing hurts, we know and feel that he has saved us.