Scripture to Read: Luke 10:29
Jesus gave the answer to eternal life: Obey God and His Word. But we know there is no way to do that in and of ourselves. No one is capable of walking in obedience to our Lord and His Word by our own strength. That is why Jesus came: only He was able to fulfill all of God’s Law, never once failing, being perfect in every way. Because of Christ’s perfection, He became the perfect sacrifice to pay the full penalty for the sins of all mankind for all time. That is why God tells us in Ephesians 5:1–2, “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; 2 and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.” We can’t imitate God unless we’ve surrendered to Christ as Lord. But once we surrender to Christ as Lord, then we can walk in love, just as Christ loved us, and He proved His love by giving Himself up for us and becoming our offering and our sacrifice to God the Father. Plus, Christ is our fragrant aroma on our behalf in the presence of God the Father. But the lawyer did not yet understand all of this, and that is why God had Luke record this in Luke 10:29, “But wishing to justify himself, he said to Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’” The lawyer was looking for an escape clause because he knew he was incapable, on his own, of loving the way God had commanded him to love.
Challenge & Application
Why is it important for us to understand all that Christ has done for us to be able to love the way He loves us?
Why was the lawyer incapable of loving the way God has commanded us all to love?
Don’t forget to pray using the A.C.T.S. (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication) method!