The Most Important Commandment

Luke 10:25-37 (New Living Translation)
The Most Important Commandment 25 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?”
26 Jesus replied, “What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?”
27 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.’”[a]
28 “Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!”
29 The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
Parable of the Good Samaritan 30 Jesus replied with a story: “A Jewish man was traveling on a trip from Jerusalem 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.
31 “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. 32 A Temple assistant[b] walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side.
33 “Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. 34 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. 35 The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins,[c] telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’
36 “Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked.
37 The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.”
Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”

The most important commandment.... Love the Lord with all your heart, all your soul, all your strenghth, and all your mind. Or is it "love thy neighbor as yourself? I don't think it's fair to place one at higher importance than the other. Because if you love the Lord with all your heart, loving your neighbor will come along with it. But a man asked, "who's my neighbor?"

This is when we get into the story of the good Samaritan. I find it boggling how a temple assisstant, and a PRIEST could not show compassion for the fallen man. It took a Samaritan to show love for the battered man. Not only did the Samaritan show compassion, but he cared for the man, providing a place to sleep and restore strength. As I read this passage this morning, I got a call to action, that I need to show compassion for those less fortunate than I am. Perhaps we all can benefit if we all become eachother's neighbors.