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Respite For the Weary
The previous few ABC posts are as follows: Lord of my Life; Make Me, Mold Me, Move Me; and Name above all Names. Today, it's Offer help Often.
Offer help Often? Synopsis of Luke 10:25-32.
Jesus spoke a parable to a certain lawyer in order to explain the statement, Love your neighbor as yourself. The parable unfolds: A man was traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho when robbers attacked him, leaving him beaten, stripped, and half dead. A short while later, a priest came upon the dying man, observed him, and chose to walk to the other side of the road. Likewise, another religious man, a Levite, came upon the wounded traveler and he, too, deliberately passed to the other side of the road. Neither of these men chose to offer help at all.
Offer help Often! Synopsis of Luke 10:25-37.
However, a Samaratin came upon the beaten man. When he saw him, he bandaged his wounds, pouring his oil and wine on them. He then put him on his donkey and took him to a nearby inn. The whole day the Samaritan offered help often to the wounded traveler. From this point forward, he made sure all the suffering man's needs would be met, and was willing to pay these expenses. The Samaritan portrayed a beautiful picture of what it means to love your neighbor as yourself.
What a contrast in this one parable. And how convicting it is! When I look at the merciless inaction of the priest and the Levite, both "righteous" individuals, I have to ask myself:
Am I, in any way, disregarding someone in need?
Am I afraid to get my hands dirty?
Am I too busy to offer help?
There are people on the "roadside of life" who are wounded and broken. There are people who are crushed in spirit. There are people who are suffering and in need. These people are waiting for someone, a close friend or even a distant stranger, to stop and touch them boldly and mercifully and abundantly. Let's be that person.
Lord, please make me like this Samaritan, full of mercy, full of compassion... full of action. Show me who it is You want me to touch with Your love, and give me the ability, the energy, and the obedience to follow through. I want to offer help often. I want to love my neighbor. Amen
(Jesus said to Saul), "Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you. I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me." Acts 26:16-18
Dear Lord,
Convict us to "get up and stand on our feet" for the sake of your name. Our mission is the same as Paul's, just in a different day: "to turn (those who are lost) from darkness to light." Give us a bold desire to walk forward with your good news. Amen.