A good Samaritan

Luke 10:25 and following where Jesus tells the story of the good Samaritan:

The Parable of the Good Samaritan

25One day an expert in the law stood up to test Him. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

26“What is written in the Law?” Jesus replied. “How do you read it?”

27He answered, “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’ and ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

28“You have answered correctly,” Jesus said. “Do this and you will live.”

29But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

30Jesus took up this question and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead.

31Now by chance a priest was going down the same road, but when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.

32So too, when a Levite came to that spot and saw him, he passed by on the other side.

33But when a Samaritan on a journey came upon him, he looked at him and had compassion. 34He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

35The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Take care of him,’ he said, ‘and on my return, I will repay you for any additional expense.’

36Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

37“The one who showed him mercy,” replied the expert in the law. Then Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

In the world that we live in today, there are many people who are like the man who was robbed and beaten. They are left on the side of the road or wherever they may be and others just walk by hoping that someone will help them. Some even take pictures with their phones but nobody seems to want to get involved. Why? Is it because we are afraid we might be responsible for this person? Are we more afraid that we might be charged with the crime of assault if we help him or her? There are as many reasons for people to not help others as there are people who just walk by and do nothing more than look.

Jesus said that we are supposed to help our neighbor regardless of the situation or circumstances but how many of us do this? Life is hard enough without trying to help everyone you come across but what about those who truly need the help? Don’t they deserve a helping hand? God loves them just as much as He loves you and for you to show His love to others by helping them is the least that you can do to show that you are following Christ.

Does this show that people are not showing the love of Christ to others today? Yes, because you rarely hear of any “good deeds” that are done for others without asking or seeking something in return. When news gets out of someone doing something like this it is treated as an aberration, totally out of character for a human being. We need to become more like Jesus today than we are, but there are so many who seem to be running as fast as possible in the other direction. Our world would benefit greatly if there were even ten percent of all of humanity who would do things for other people without expecting anything in return. What a wonderful world it would be.