April 18 2026

Saturday April 18

Who Is My Neighbor?

Philippians 1:12

Today we are continuing to look at Philippians 1:12, where the Apostle Paul writes back to the church at Philippi and says, “But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel.” We are talking about God taking the gospel to the unexpected places where we end up in life. That is where Paul is—in prison. Yet Paul is saying, “This is good. I have been able to further the ministry of the gospel right here in this prison.” Despite the circumstances, and despite where we might find ourselves in life, God has some divine appointments for us.

I could not help but think yesterday, as we were finishing up the chat on this verse, about the story of the Good Samaritan. You know that story in Luke chapter 10, where a man—a lawyer—asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?” The Lord had just spoken to him about the great commandment: “To love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. Then the second commandment is of equal importance: to love your neighbor as yourself.” So the lawyer asked, “Who is my neighbor?” Then the Lord told the parable—the story of the Good Samaritan.

A man had gone down from Jerusalem to Jericho, to gamble or to pursue whatever worldly and ungodly desires drew him away from the holy city. He was going down to a place that was not good. Along the way, he was beaten by thieves, who took everything he had and left him on the side of the road half dead. You remember how a priest and a Levite came by, and in essence said, “What is mine is mine, and I am going to keep it. I am not going to share it with you.” But finally, this Good Samaritan came by, and he took what he had and helped the man.

You know the story. Jesus said this man was the one who helped his neighbor. Jesus was answering the question, “Who is my neighbor?” Here is the answer to the lawyer’s question: Your neighbor is whoever is closest to you with a need. Now think about that—whoever is closest to you with a need. You may be thinking, “Everyone around me seems to have it all together.” But my friend, if those around you do not have Jesus Christ in their heart, they have the greatest need anyone could have in life. That is the need to know Jesus Christ, to hear the gospel, to be lifted out of a life of brokenness and sin and brought to a saving knowledge of Him.

Your neighbor is the closest person to you in need. Sometimes it might be the guard you are chained to. He may be mistreating you, but he has needs in his life—and he needs Jesus. My friend, I do not care what the circumstances may be or where you find yourself in life—who is the neighbor next door to you? I remember a lady who had a neighbor next door, and they were constantly fighting over things like who was mowing whose grass and other small matters. She finally went to the preacher and said, “I just cannot take it anymore. I am trying to be a good Christian. I have even tried to cut his grass, and it is just not working out very well. I have used up all my Christianity praying for him. I cannot take anymore.”

My friend, maybe you feel like that. But that may be the very opportunity God is giving you to truly show the love of God to someone who is very unlovable—someone who is very unkind. That person next to you, who may be displaying the worst attitudes, may actually be the one crying out for help the loudest.

We should be like the Good Samaritan, who took that poor, broken man out of the ditch, put him on his own donkey, took him to an inn, paid his bills, and said, “I will come back and pay the rest—just let me know what it costs.” That is someone willing to give up time, resources, energy—whatever it takes—to help the person closest to them in need, even when they do not know them. But my friend, you come to know them when you show them you care and tell them about Jesus.

So I want to encourage you, be like the Good Samaritan. Look for the neighbor closest to you—anyone at work, at the grocery store, at the gas station, wherever it may be. In the most unlikely circumstances—even in prison—you may find that person who is waiting for you to tell them about Jesus. I trust that, as Paul said, this is happening for the furtherance of the gospel. And we need to understand that everything in our lives, God is using to guide our steps for the furtherance of the gospel. May the Lord help us to be alert to that.

God bless and may you have a wonderful, wonderful day!