Who is my neighbor? Thoughts on The Parable of the Good Samaritan

Luke 10:25-37 NKJV

Who is my neighbor?

"A certain lawyer" asked this question of Jesus in Luke 10:29.  I have heard many sermons based on this parable.  But one thing I don't think I've ever heard anyone say is that being a neighbor is up to us.  Perhaps it's been said but not in a way that it struck me, but the Holy Spirit said it to me this way today.  Sometimes we think being a neighbor is something that happens by chance when someone moves into our neighborhood or when we move into theirs.  Perhaps we think of a neighbor as someone who is friendly to us or does something kind for us.  But in the parable, the neighbor was the giver, not the recipient.  The Samaritan, the man who was the neighbor, chose to love.  He chose to serve.  He didn't sit and wave at his next door neighbor as they cut their grass.  He didn't wait for them to bring cookies to welcome him to the neighborhood.  He saw someone in need - a stranger, someone who perhaps considered him an enemy - but he chose to help.  And not just to help, but to help sacrificially.  We see in verse 35 that he gave all he had for the man's care and promised to cover any additional costs the innkeeper might incur.  He shows us that being a neighbor is active rather than passive. We show that we are a neighbor by our actions.  The priest and the Levite took no action on behalf of the wounded traveler.  They were not neighbors.  The Samaritan was the neighbor.

I think there's more to come from this, but I'll stop here for now.