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Originally Posted by boxcar
Good Morning, Mr. Light. I have a question for you about love: In Jesus' parable about the Good Samaritan, did he teach us about worldly love or godly love? Let's look at that parable closely:
Luke 10:25-37
25 And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" 26 And He said to him, "What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?" 27 And he answered and said, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself." 28 And He said to him, "You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live." 29 But wishing to justify himself, he said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" 30 Jesus replied and said, "A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho; and he fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went off leaving him half dead. 31 "And by chance a certain priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 "And likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 "But a certain Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, 34 and came to him, and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 "And on the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return, I will repay you.' 36 "Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers' hands?" 37 And he said, "The one who showed mercy toward him." And Jesus said to him, "Go and do the same."
NASB
So, tell me, Light: You have told us repeatedly that divine love requires no object; therefore do you interpret Jesus' parable as teaching us about how to love in an inferior, worldly way? But if he is, then how, specifically, is the love the Samaritan manifested toward the crime victim inferior to divine love? How could the Samaritan's love that sought the welfare and well being of another human being be inferior to a divine love that makes no such demands to seek out the welfare of others? It seems to me that a love that is practiced is infinitely more valuable than one that is kept bottled up inside oneself for self-serving or self-seeking purposes. A love that seeks its own [reward] is worthless and, indeed, ungodly (1Cor 13:4). This is why Jesus also said to the self-righteous law expert "Do this and live"! He didn't tell the guy to go home and meditate in his prayer closet and get in touch with the divine so that he can experience some ecstatic feeling! He told him to go out and do something that has practical value to others -- to manifest love in a practical way -- in a way that would benefit others.
Your idea of what divine love is all about is far off the mark and it totally worthless both in this life and in the life to come. If anyone does not love as Jesus taught in the parable, he will not inherit eternal life. That is the very crystal clear teaching of this parable.
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