LUKE 10: 34,35

Jesus tells us from the moment he saw him, the good Samaritan had compassion on him (v.33). There was no way he could have continued on his journey pretending not to see what he had seen, a brother/traveler, lying by the wayside, stripped, beaten, wounded, and more dead than alive. The passage causes us to seriously question the priest and the Levite – their humanity, their religion, their lack of spirituality. Could we really be like that? In the church, but absolutely clueless! May God help us not just to be able to talk about our faith, but may we be living expressions of what it means to be true representatives of the Christ we are called to practically serve. It is about going beyond ourselves! It is about interrupting our personal schedules and agendas, so that we can genuinely help and save the lost and dying all around us.

So moved with compassion was the good Samaritan that everything else on his agenda was temporarily suspended and rearranged to attend to this rapidly dying, wounded soul. Wherever he had to go or whatever he had to do was completely readjusted. This dying soul became his priority. Jesus informed us that “he went to him”(v.34). It is our Christian duty to go to people, to meet them at their point of need. We cannot pretend not to see people or to remain unmoved and untouched in the face of all the misery and pain all around us. The church must take the blinders off! It is more than evident that what the priest and Levite did was shameful and scandalous. They came, they saw, and yet deliberately chose to remain uninvolved and disinterested. A soul was literally dying, and they were mindless, detached, cold, and callous. They nonchalantly passed by on the other side.

May this indictment never be levied against any of our pastors, ministers, members, or local churches today. God forbid that we meet hurting souls in our everyday transactions and show no care, concern, or compassion. I remain so convinced and convicted that we cannot afford to be untroubled or insensitive where the needs of our fellow human beings are concerned. That soul that came to your church on Sunday or that you met on the subway, or on the job, or in the park, or wherever, was not by accident! Jesus sent you there or sent them there so that you can speak life and health into them, tend to their gushing wounds, and minister grace to them (v.34). One of the main reasons we exist as a church is to meet the needs of the lost and dying. We minister life and healing to any and all in need without discrimination.

Today, we are looking for people to come to us. However, please note that many of them are too wounded to come. We must go get them! We go to them not to condemn them, judge them, or to further exacerbate their wounds, but to heal and cure them, to lift them up on our shoulders, to take them to a place where further help can be given to them. The good Samaritan, when he could no longer be there in person to help the wounded traveler, commissioned the innkeeper to “… Take care of him.” He also declared, “… and whatsoever you spendest more, when I come, I will repay thee” (v.35). The good Samaritan was not concerned about payback, recognition, or resources. You cannot put a price tag on souls! It is our duty to take care of them! We practice what we preach!