Have you ever had an awesome neighbor? They can totally change your standard of living. Instead of just a simple "Hey, can I borrow this?" you might end up with a radically different understanding of community. But have you ever had a frustrating neighbor? When we lived in Kentucky we were pretty much next door to a meth house. Let me tell you, that was interesting.

Neighbors are interesting because they are people who have to inhabit rather intimate spaces with and we don't get to necessarily decide who they are. I remember hearing once how Ozzy Osbourne lived next door to Pat Boone and Ozzy would call him his favorite neighbor ever.

Surprising. Huh?

Jesus got into a conversation about neighbors once. And in it, he gave us what is probably the most famous parable ever.

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?"

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!"

The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"

Jesus replied with a story: "A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road.

"By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. A Temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side.

"Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, 'Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I'll pay you the next time I'm here.'

"Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?" Jesus asked.

The man replied, "The one who showed him mercy."

Then Jesus said, "Yes, now go and do the same." Luke 10:25-37 NLT

In this passage we see the foundation of how Jesus asks us to live inside this world. Devote ourselves fully to God and trust that the aftereffects will be the life He asks us to live. In this story, Jesus asks us to reflect on how our own faith changes us and to what levels are we willing to let it change us.

Let's be part of this conversation together.