Would You Help?
“But a Samaritan, as he
traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him.” – Luke 10:33
Most of us are familiar with this story. Jesus told us
how the priest and the Levite saw the victim of a brutal attack and just kept
on walking. The Samaritan, the one who knew rejection, was the one who stopped
to help.
We all know the point of the story. We are to love
others as ourselves, to show kindness and compassion to everyone. We miss that
Jesus meant just that: everyone. Not
just those who look and believe like us.
The Samaritans were half-Jewish and half-Gentile. The
Jewish people wanted no part of them. They were all about purity in their bloodline.
Do you remember the woman at the well? She was surprised that Jesus would talk
to her because she was a Samaritan.
I wonder if the Samaritan was able to show such
kindness because he knew what it was like to be rejected. I wonder if perhaps
he helped because he understood what it felt like to be cast aside. I wonder if
his actions changed the man he helped.
The hard truth is that those who have suffered greatly
sometimes have a greater compassion for others. Those who have had their lives
destroyed are more likely to show mercy on those who are experiencing the same.
We reach out and embrace those who are hurting because we, too, have known deep
hurt.
I’ve heard all those sayings about how God breaks us
in order to remake us. There’s some truth in that. How could we possibly know
how blessed we are if we never experience true heartbreak?
Please note, too, that it wasn’t the religious leaders
who helped. It wasn’t those who thought of themselves as men of God who gave of
themselves. Did they consider themselves too important? Were they worried they
would be defiled and kept from the temple for a time? Did they truly have no
compassion on someone who was in such sad shape?
The Samaritan didn’t just offer a prayer. He didn’t
thrust a few coins in the man’s hands and go on his way. He gave of himself. He
tended the man himself. He paid for him to stay in a hotel. He sacrificed his
time and his money to see to the needs of a total stranger.
Would you have done the same? Probably not. Most of us
would have walked on by. We might have called the police. We might have said a
prayer or offered money. But we wouldn’t have stopped. We wouldn’t have gotten
involved.
I know. There’s a real danger in our world. Sometimes
people die when all they’re trying to do is good. Therein lies the true question:
How much are we willing to risk to follow Jesus?
Jesus said to love others as ourselves. He didn’t say
to only love those who look like us. He didn’t say to only love those we
actually like. He didn’t say to love those who see the world as we do. Jesus
said to love everyone.
Can we do that? Can you do it? Can I? It’s not an easy
road. But, then, following Jesus was never meant to be easy.
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