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Health & Medical Expanding our Boundaries of Love Discussion

 

The first four books of the Bible’s New Testament are known as the Gospels.  The word “gospel” means “good news.”  All four of these Gospel books focus their attention upon the life of Jesus Christ. The third Gospel is written by the apostle Luke.

During this course, we will focus our devotional time on Luke 10:25-37.  For the first workshop you will not consider all of that reading, but just give your attention to Luke 10:25-29.

On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus.  “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
“What is written in the Law?” He replied.  “How do you read it?”
He answered, “’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 ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied.  “Do this and you will live.”
But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
Luke 10:25-29 (New International Version)

During His life on earth, Jesus was approached with many questions.  The aforementioned question focuses on how we get to heaven.  When Jesus’ immediate response was to ask the questioner what he already knew from the scriptures, the individual’s response proved that he was very familiar with scripture. He stated,“‘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 ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” It makes sense that he can quote scripture because he is described as an “expert in the law.”  In that time period, a law expert would have been well educated, literate, and very familiar with Old Testament scripture.

The response of the “expert in the law” was so good that Jesus complimented him, stating, “You have answered correctly.  Do this and you will live.”  This should have been enough to send the questioner on his way; after all, he already had the right answer.  But instead, he asked a follow-up question: “And who is my neighbor?”

It is one thing to say that we love others; however, it is another matter altogether when we take the time to define who the “others” are whom we will love.  This exercise truly reveals our heart.  When we say we love “others,” we may really be saying we love “others” who are just like us.  The big question here is “who is beyond the boundaries of my love?”

This is what the remainder of our devotionals will focus on: how Jesus answered this question of who our “neighbor” is and how He showed us where the boundaries of true love should be established.  During this workshop you will give a significant amount of attention to emerging trends in healthcare.  Consideration will be given to demographics, economics, and other matters that create differentiation amongst the population being served.  Begin your journey through this workshop by asking yourself, “Who is my neighbor?”  Then seek to expand the current boundaries of your love to include more neighbors.

Instructions

  1. Read aloud Luke 10:25-37 in your Bible.
  2. Navigate to the threaded discussion and response to the following questions, using sub-headings to organize your post:
    1. How does the presence of genuine love impact the way we conduct our professional lives?
    2. Are there currently boundaries concerning those whom we are willing to love?  How can we expand them?
    3. In what ways do you see the practice of love informing healthcare policy?