"Who is my neighbor?" a lawyer once asked Jesus. He was looking for a loophole, because Jesus had just confirmed that loving his neighbor was one of the most critical parts of God's law. The lawyer hoped that the designation "neighbor" had a very limited scope.

Jesus' answer left him more-or-less speechless, and certainly uncomfortable. Jesus made the despised Samaritan the hero of the story; he was the one who found a complete stranger from another culture and race, helpless and dying, and was moved with compassion toward him.

And Jesus didn't just make the Samaritan the hero. He finished his lesson by saying to the lawyer, "Now you go and do the same thing."

Go, and be like the Samaritan.

Find the stranger, the alien, the despised one, and be moved with compassion toward him. He is, after all, your neighbor.

Resources for Giving

Giving and receiving is a wonderful Christmas tradition, but celebrating the Christmas season ought to be more than just swimming in a flood of unneeded "stuff." What better way to celebrate the birth of Christ is there than to give to those who, like Him, bear the cruel marks of poverty and exile - the wayfarer and stranger here and abroad.

Below is a list of organizations we have used personally, or have been used by trusted friends, to help care for people around the world in their times of greatest distress. We pray that as God moves you with compassion, you will consider doing the same.

Word Vision - Refugee Crisis Giving
World Relief - Refugee Crisis
Nazarene Compassionate Ministries - Refugee and Immigrant Support Fund


* For those unfamiliar with this part of the Christmas story, when the wise men returned to their homeland without reporting back to Herod, the king became enraged (and filled with fear at word of a "new king in Bethlehem") and called for the slaughter of the boy children of Bethlehem in order to remove the threat. Being warned in advance by a messenger from God, Joseph, Mary, and Jesus fled to Egypt, where they waited as refugees far from their homeland until the death of Herod. Hence, the line "exiled again from thy rest in the manger," and the link between the Christ child and all refugees. No wonder Jesus said (referring metaphorically to the poor and homeless), "I was hungry and you fed me, I was a stranger and you invited me in..." He identified Himself with the strangers and wayfarers of this world.

Note: We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.