Loving God & Others is a Call to Action
Loving God & Others is a Call to Action
Good Samaritan
Luke 10:25-37
"Make My Life an Instrument"
Life has been hard to a lot of people
around each of us. There are many people who have been hurt and
are hurting. The have been robbed of opportunity, cheated out
of life, chained by addictions, haunted by their pasts.
They are different than you are, maybe by nationality, or by education level. Maybe they have different family backgrounds or values systems. Maybe they are homeless, or disabled, maybe they are an AIDs patient or a refugee. Maybe they live next door to you or in the lane behind you. Maybe you see them - Maybe you don't.
There was a lawyer, well educated, well connected, an expert, a professional. He really didn't have intentions to grow spiritually. He asked a divisive question of the day. "what must I do to have eternal life?" In the Jewish culture, there were 2 camps, the Pharisees and Sadducees. The Sadducees did not believe in a resurrection or eternal life, the Pharisees did. The lawyer desired to embroil Jesus in controversy, Jesus pointed him back to truth
‘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.'
"Do this and you will live" Jesus replied - a very personal statement; and now that things were getting personal the lawyer asked a personal question: "who is my neighbour?"
wanting to justify himself - looking for an excuse to treat people however he determined best, probably hoping ot be able to prove that not all people (esp the kind that he doesn't like) are his neighbours.
Jesus responds with a parable that raised the standards of love.
The Jews and the Samaritans were arch-enemies. In Luke 9 Jesus goes to a Samaritan village and the people did not welcome him, actually they must have been so insulting that James & John were ready to call down fire from heaven to destroy the whole lot of them.
Jews & Samaritans hated each other. And Jesus tells a story of a good Samaritan man who responded differently than the good or educated, Priests and Levite travelers that happened upon a man who was naked, beat up and left for dead.
The Priests and Levites of the day were the upper class of society, they had everything going for them, they were looked up to, favored, powerful. They could make things happen, people watched them, scrutinized them, and wanted to be like them. These men saw the hurt man completely from societies perspective - not worth their time, not worth helping - this man was a blight, besides he probably got what he deserved, or maybe he was just the wrong guy in the wrong place at the wrong time which is an equation for LOSER, I don't help losers, I am a winner, that is what people expect from me.
The Samaritan man had a completely different perspective:
Luke 10:33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,' he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'
- Cared - he saw someone hurt and "took pity on him" v33 "he had compassion" (NAS) his heart was moved the word actually means he was moved in the inward parts. He felt compassion. It shook him. Where others would be calloused, he cared. This person mattered to him.
Isn't that just like God - who sees
Ex 3:7 The LORD said, "I have indeed seen the misery of
my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave
drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering.
Over and over God shows that he cares,
Jesus demonstrated compassion many times,
Eph 2:4 But because of his great love for us, God, who
is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were
dead in transgressions-it is by grace you have been saved.
Jesus was the righteous for the unrighteous to bring us to God 1 Pet 3:18 - He was completely different from us and yet He cared.
The Samaritan was:
- Moved into Action - "he went to him"
There are those who see something, and care in the moment, but do not do anything. Have you ever seen a presentation of hurting people somewhere - World Impact, moved in the moment but did nothing when it came down to it. The Samaritan was not like that, he saw, was moved inside and then moved outwardly. This is what separates the well intentioned from those who get things done.
Heart Attitude - Open & Honest - what is going on inside comes out
Jesus did the same:
Phil. 2:5
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Phil. 2:6 Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
7 but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
The Samaritan took action and was also:
- Willing to get dirty - he "bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine."
If this man was hurt as bad has it appears, he was unconscious, bloody, dirty. He was going to get another mans blood on him, maybe all over him. The Priest and Levite would have become ‘ceremonially unclean' meaning they would not have been able to handle holy things for a period of time, the Samaritan was about to get completely unclean, you don't want him to touch anything until he was cleaned up. But that was not the Samaritans concern, he knew he would be made clean again.
Jesus came to get dirty:
Mark 1:40-41 A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, "If you are willing, you can make me clean."
Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!"
The Samaritan was:
- Willing to be inconvenienced - 34 Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day...
The Samaritan man made himself available - he was in control of his own schedule, and he cleared his schedule for a man he did not know, who needed help. There was something more valuable to him than his time. And at that moment it was that man.
He put the injured man on his donkey - that meant he walked.
He took him to an inn and nursed the man, I believe if he had been close enough he would have probably taken him to his home and nursed him. He needed to get the man off the road and someplace safe. Roadside inns were not really safe places, but it was all he had available to him, so he stayed with him. The man was beat up badly, just cleaning him up, and sending him on his way was not going to do it, so he spent the night with him.
- He was busy -he had a schedule to keep - he left the next day, the man was not well enough to travel, but stable, he did all he could - He had brought healing to this man and now he went on to what he was doing.
The Samaritan was willing to be
inconvenienced to bring healing, help, hope to someone who need that.
Jesus did the same - he was inconvenienced for us
Matt 14: 4 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
Matt. 14:15 As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, "This is a remote place, and it's already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food."
Matt. 14:16 Jesus replied, "They
do not need to go away. You give them something to eat."
The Samaritan took action and was:
- willing to give and be generous -
Luke 10:35 he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,' he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'
He picked up the tab, he paid the bills, He paid to minister to someone else.
If it costs more - I will take care of it - he lived generously. He didn't do the minimum required but ALL that he could.
His concern was not only for the
injured man but that the innkeeper was not injured by the deal as well.
Sometimes it is the ancillary people who pay the price, pick up the loose ends. The Samaritan saw the care of the man all the way through - that is maturity, character, and integrity. He didn't leave a mess for someone else to clean up.
That is what God did for us:
Rom 8:32
He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all-how will
he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?
Jesus came to give his life so that we might give and be generous with our lives.
To
love God - and to love others is a call to action.
Jesus turns the question of the lawyer around - he asked "who is my neighbour" Jesus responds with "Whose neighbor am I" "do I respond as a neighbour to those who have need of my love & help"
Do I care and am moved to action,
am I willing to get dirty and be inconvenienced? Am I willing to give
and be generous with those God puts in front of my path?
Some of our meet-ups are beginning
this year to look at something we call the Heart Attitudes -
I was talking with someone this week who said we don't learn things by just studying them, sometimes we have to see them lived out - they were right - esp when it comes to the truths of God
One of our heart attitudes is that we put the needs and interests of others ahead of ourselves. This is what the Samaritan did and If you want to see what that looks like in real time - look at Diana.
Every week she picks up ladies at Steeves Manor and brings them here to worship with us. These ladies are not ‘like' her, they are not on her way, but she loves them. She saw a need - her heart was moved and she moved to help them. They would not be able to worship if someone didn't go to get them. It costs her time, attention, gas money, but she does it. She makes herself available - every week. When we are on vacation - no one picks up the ball. But this is who we are at the bridge - people willing to love others - whether they are like us or not, whether it is convenient or not we love others to bring help, healing, hope to them.
We are going to listen to the song we started this message with
"Make me an instrument" listen to it, pray, ask God - who am I a neighbor to? - search your heart - are you the lawyer in the story, the priest or levite or Samaritan. Who are you, what do you need to change in your life? The guys are going to play the song over as long as people are sitting down -
When you are finished praying, wrestling
with your heart before the Lord then you are free to "Go and do likewise"