Do you know the Bible recording of The Good Samaritan in Luke chapter 10? If you do, keep reading to know my thoughts on the story. If you don’t know the story, here it is. Read it all for a deeper understanding:
Loving God, Loving Others
25 Just then a religious scholar stood before Jesus in order to test his doctrines. He posed this question: “Teacher, what requirement must I fulfill if I want to live forever in heaven?”
26 Jesus replied, “What does Moses teach us? What do you read in the Law?”
27 The religious scholar answered, “It states, ‘You must love the Lord God with all your heart, all your passion, all your energy, and your every thought. And you must love your neighbor as well as you love yourself.’”
28 Jesus said, “That is correct. Now go and do exactly that and you will live.”
29 Wanting to justify himself, he questioned Jesus further, saying, “What do you mean by ‘my neighbor’?”
30 Jesus replied, “Listen and I will tell you. There was once a Jewish man traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho when bandits robbed him along the way. They beat him severely, stripped him naked, and left him half dead.
31 “Soon, a Jewish priest walking down the same road came upon the wounded man. Seeing him from a distance, the priest crossed to the other side of the road and walked right past him, not turning to help him one bit.
32 “Later, a religious man, a Levite, came walking down the same road and likewise crossed to the other side to pass by the wounded man without stopping to help him.
33 “Finally, another man, a Samaritan, came upon the bleeding man and was moved with tender compassion for him. 34 He stooped down and gave him first aid, pouring olive oil on his wounds, disinfecting them with wine, and bandaging them to stop the bleeding. Lifting him up, he placed him on his own donkey and brought him to an inn. Then he took him from his donkey and carried him to a room for the night. 35 The next morning he took his own money from his wallet and gave it to the innkeeper with these words: ‘Take care of him until I come back from my journey. If it costs more than this, I will repay you when I return.’ 36 So, now, tell me, which one of the three men who saw the wounded man proved to be the true neighbor?”
37 The religious scholar responded, “The one who demonstrated kindness and mercy.”
Jesus said, “You must go and do the same as he.”
What I hear:
You’re hurt. You’ve been hurting for years. Someone robbed you along your journey through this life. They beat up your mind and emotions. They stripped you of your dignity and purity. You can’t see yourself anymore in the image I created you in, that is My image. All you see are your wounds. But I see you. Fearfully and wonderfully made. And I see them. I am a just God who loves justice and righteousness. Though many who call me their Lord have looked with blind eyes at you, I see you clearly. With compassion, I sacrificed my own Son and raised Him again so you could live without punishment and shame for the things done to you and the things you’ve done. My grace is sufficient for you. I will pour out my oil and wine on your inner most being. Cleansing your mind and purifying your heart. I will anoint your wounds and use your tender scars to remain tender toward others on their journey. Trust Me with your pain. I can do more with it than you can or this world can. I love you!
Maybe that Jewish man shouldn’t have been traveling where he was and knew it wasn’t a safe area. Or maybe not. I don’t think it really matters to God. He isn’t looking at who needs compassion and healing based on if they were doing the right thing or not. It’s His nature to nurture and give life again.
What Good Samaritan moments have we walked by in people’s lives? People we love, but are too afraid to look at them in their pain.
We see it, but pretend like we don’t. It’s too much. We don’t want to hinder our comfort, even for someone we love. We cross the road and pass by them without a glance.
Maybe we feel like we don’t have enough to offer so we don’t bother trying to help. Our shame holds us back from feeling good enough to help someone when we don’t feel like we can help ourself.
But what if we stopped? We could use what we have in the moment just like the olive oil and wine. I’m thinking that the Samaritan didn’t pack those two items knowing he was going to use it on a half dead stranger later in his travels. He simply stopped, used what he had and offered to bring whatever else was needed to cover the charge.
Take-away’s from the story are:
1) Look at people who others ignore. 2) Be willing wherever you’re at. 3) In Christ, you have exactly what need. 4) Trust Jesus with your pain.
