THE UNTOLD STORY IN THE GOOD SAMARITAN
Most of us have heard the familiar Bible story of the Good Samaritan—the man who exemplified what it means to love your neighbor as yourself.
But most have not considered what I call the “untold story” of the Good Samaritan and the truth it reveals. That “untold story” is this—There are real victims in the world we live in. There are people in our lives who have been the victims of egregious wrongs and injustices, and the question is—what will we do about it?
Among many Christians and conservatives I often hear said, things like, “stop playing the victim” or “refuse to be a victim.” And, generally speaking, I know what they are trying to communicate. But, for many, the pendulum of understanding has swung too far in the wrong direction. You see, Jesus’s story, told by God himself, does not say being a good neighbor is loaning your neighbor your snow shovel, or letting them use your lawn mower. These may be kind things, but the precise example Jesus gives is a story of a brutal injustice that’s inflicted on a man, a man who’s been terribly victimized by wicked people and desperately needs help. He’s in a broken condition in which he is actually powerless to help himself. He can’t just pull himself up by his bootstraps and put his broken life back together all by himself. He needs help. He needs love, care, support, generosity, and great mercy, compassion, and understanding. He needs the resources of another man, who willingly gives money from his own pocket to put the man up in a room and covers his expenses until he can get back on his feet again.
Over the years, God has put people in my life, directly in my path, even some closest to me, who were cruelly victimized and inflicted by terrible injustices. Their suffering and need was great–emotionally, physically, financially, and they needed someone to come along and be the kind of neighbor that Jesus describes the Good Samaritan as being.
In order to love them as myself, it meant a real demonstration of mercy, compassion, understanding, and caring for their needs, a real giving of myself. It meant giving thousands of my own dollars to help them survive, and get back on their feet once again.
Never fail to see the genuine victims God puts in your life. Will you show them mercy, or harshly judge and criticize? Will you care for them as long as it takes, or will you simply close your eyes and walk on by? Choose to be the Good Samaritan to them. This greatly honors God and is the genuine practice of our Christian faith. This is the second Great Commandment!
I can tell you this–I thank God for the Good Samaritans He’s brought into my life over the years. I can’t imagine where I would be today without them. Some of you reading this are those people. From the depths of my heart–THANK YOU. I will never forget your mercy, compassion, love, and generosity.
*Let me state very clearly—I am not advancing the “social justice” mantra of the Left. I am talking specifically of people directly in your path, your circle of life, who God puts directly in front of you, who’ve suffered or are suffering terrible wrongs or injustices and need your immediate help.
Helping you become a Strong Disciple,
Because of Jesus,
Pastor Mark Darling
