Go and Do Thou Likewise

Jesus tells a story to a young expert in Jewish law when the expert asks who his neighbor is. It is a familiar story, the story of the Good Samaritan. At the end, Christ asks the lawyer, in light of the story, which one of the three people who passed by was acting like a neighbor. The lawyer answers correctly, "The one who showed the wounded man mercy." Christ doesn't leave the lesson at that point, however. He means for the young lawyer to make an application to his own life. "Go, and do thou likewise" (KJV), he tells the lawyer.

Of course both Christ and the author (Luke) mean for us to be the lawyer in the story. Neighbors show people mercy. Go and be a neighbor, wherever you are.