Living in the Image of God M06S01

This study begins a series on understanding God’s intentions for “what the Lord has given us.” We will learn through the series that every gift of God comes with three attributes: full ownership, total control, and a mandated communal purpose. We begin with a discussion of Christ teaching on the individual responsibility regarding a neighbor’s call for assistance, whereby God transmits a call to compassion via a human channel to a human recipient. He informs the recipient regarding circumstances of a person needing goods or service that they cannot provide for themselves. The call recipient is to use what God has given him or her to provide assistance to the needy. God charges the recipient to recognize the need and needy; care about the needy; commit to doing what you can; and, motivated only by care, persevere in seeking to alleviate the need. We discuss the Parable of Good Samaritan to understand the individual responsibility to recognize and respond to a neighbor’s call for assistance.

This study begins a series focused on understanding God’s intentions for “what the Lord has given us.” We will understand through the series that God’s gift to every person comes with three attributes. The first attribute is full ownership: that is, every person has full ownership of what God has given him or her. The second is full control: that is, every person has full authority to determine when, where, and how to use what God has given to him or her. The third is a mandated communal purpose: that is, every gift of God comes with a mandate to understand the value and purpose of the gift regarding the needs of others and needs of the community; and use the understanding to determine when, where, and how to use “what the Lord has given you.”

A gift of God could come to a person as an increase in his or her physical or mental resources. The purpose of the study series is to understand that God calls every person to recognize and honor the communal purpose of what God has given to him or her. We will provide the study in ten sessions: one session every month in February through November of 2025.

In this session of the series, we discuss Christ teaching on the individual responsibility regarding a neighbor’s call for assistance, through the Parable of Good Samaritan. Are you my neighbor? This question announces God’s call for a person to recognize circumstances of another person needing assistance from others. God calls every person to recognize a neighbor’s call for assistance and respond positively. Christ provides a deliberate teaching to prepare every person to recognize a neighbor’s call for assistance and respond effectively using “what the Lord has given us.” We describe the Parable of Good Samaritan in detail to understand the teaching.