The Good Neighbor
I can show love to the people around me.
Stories of Jesus · Luke 10:30–34
I can show love to the people around me.
Have you ever helped someone who needed it? Maybe you got something for them or gave them a hug? Jesus told a story about what real love looks like. And it's a great one.
A man is walking down a long, lonely road.
Some men jump out and hurt him. They take everything he has and leave him on the side of the road.
He is hurt. He can't get up.
Two different people come down the road. They see the hurt man. And they walk past on the other side. They don't stop.
But then a third man comes along. He is from a different town. Not even from the hurt man's people.
He sees the man on the road. And he stops.
He gets down next to him. He puts medicine on his wounds. He wraps them up carefully. He lifts the man gently onto his donkey. He takes him to an inn, a safe place to rest, and pays for everything.
Can you pretend to bandage someone's arm? Wrap it up gently. Just like the good neighbor did.
'Which one of those three was a good neighbor?' Jesus asks.
The one who helped. The one who stopped. The one who used his hands and his money to love someone who needed it.
Jesus says: 'Go and do the same.'
Prayer
Let's pray. Repeat after me:
Dear God,
Help me to stop and help.
Help me to love
the people around me.
We love you!
Amen.
Listen to this devotional with audio narration and illustrations in the Seedling: Bible Stories app — short devotionals for Christian families with children ages 2–5.