There is much to learn from this exchange between Jesus and a Jewish expert in the Law. And it may come as a surprise to us that Jesus actually affirms what the expert says regarding “what one must do to inherit eternal life.” Jesus is not affirming “salvation by works” but he is highlighting what lies at the heart of a right relationship with God — loving God with our whole being and loving others without limits. The key thing to recognize, however, is that we can never “do” these things as part of a system of behaviour or as a set of rules. Only when we see that Jesus has acted towards us like the Good Samaritan acted towards the beaten, dying man, will our lives change to reflect this kind of love towards God and others, not "in order to” but “because of.”
