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"On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, "Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return I will repay you'" (Luke 10:35)
Have you ever met someone who thought that he was the "end all" in any particular endeavor of life, beloved? Such an attitude is especially deadly when it comes to serving Jesus Christ as the attitude of the Samaritan traveler in Jesus' parable makes clear for us. We have discovered thus far how he was able to be used in rescuing the wounded Hebrew because he was watchful of all going on around him. We also learned that he felt compassion for the man in need and that he was willing to be interrupted in his own journey by coming to his aid. We learned further that he was willing to be fully involved in bandaging up the man's wounds. And last week we learned the importance of his being committed to the long haul in seeing the man recover completely.
Finally, as we wrap up our consideration of the lessons from this parable, we note the Samaritan's willingness to ask help from the innkeeper and his request that he "take care of him" until he should return that way. Very simply, the Samaritan did not want to limit that man's care to what he himself could do alone. He recognized that ministry was not about him as a caregiver, but rather about meeting the needs of the man who fell among thieves. To that end he was more than willing to accept any and all assistance he could find in accomplishing that task.
How today you and I as effective servants of Jesus Christ need to be willing to work together with others in seeing to it that every need of every person is met. We need to remember always that ministry is about them and never about us. Thus, we should gladly welcome the intervention of other gifted saints who share the same burden that we feel for those left on the side of life's road by sin or catastrophe. I will never forget the day many years ago when my wife's car broke down on the side of the highway while I was miles away at work. She had a car full of groceries and had been on her way home. A very kind Park Police officer stopped behind her to see if he could lend some aid. He not only graciously carried her all the way home in his patrol car, but even carried every bag of groceries into the house for her. How grateful I was that day for the assistance of one who did what I was not equipped to do myself! That is precisely the attitude we must have today toward brothers and sisters in Christ who also have realized that ministry is not about us, but who are only too glad to come alongside and help to meet the needs of the lost and hurting. If you yourself would not want to be left stranded on the side of the road of life, beloved, by people who do not care, then why would you as a Christian ever be insensitive to others in need across whose paths the Spirit of God may lead you?
Ron
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
A Samaritan and the Long Haul
"...and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him" (Luke 10:34c)
Most of us at one time or another has been "broken down" on the side of the road and in need of emergency assistance. Either that or we have cared enough to stop alongside the highway and help a stranded traveler. At any rate, one thing is sure. We can only do so much for someone when they have been stranded. Anything requiring great technical knowledge or lots of labor is usually not possible then and there. That's why tow trucks are in business!
The Samaritan traveler felt compassion for the wounded Hebrew and did all that he could for him there by the side of the road. As we have discovered already, he interrupted his own journey to stop and render aid. He further became fully involved in meeting his needs by bandaging up his wounds. But there is another quality of this gracious man that we learn as well, beloved. He knew that his "roadside assistance" would not be enough to save the man's life. So the Samaritan put the man on his own beast of burden and took him to the nearest inn for nursing and rehabilitation. In other words, we might say that the Samaritan committed himself to "the long haul."
Ministry needs today as Christians will often cause us to have to commit to "the long haul," beloved. We cannot get by with merely slapping a band-aid on the hurt and hurrying back to our own lives. We are going to encounter people for whom a bag of groceries and a card with money in it are not going to be enough. What do we do as followers of Jesus Christ when the Spirit of God leads us across the path of such ones as these? We must decide, as did the Samaritan, whether or not we are going to be in it for "the long haul"! We are going to have to decide whether or not we will arrange for more extensive and often more costly care. Before we become involved in ministry to this world, then, we must decide how far we are willing to go. What would Jesus do? What did Jesus do? Let His example guide us as we venture forth as His servants to take His love to a world that desperately needs Him so much.
Ron
Most of us at one time or another has been "broken down" on the side of the road and in need of emergency assistance. Either that or we have cared enough to stop alongside the highway and help a stranded traveler. At any rate, one thing is sure. We can only do so much for someone when they have been stranded. Anything requiring great technical knowledge or lots of labor is usually not possible then and there. That's why tow trucks are in business!
The Samaritan traveler felt compassion for the wounded Hebrew and did all that he could for him there by the side of the road. As we have discovered already, he interrupted his own journey to stop and render aid. He further became fully involved in meeting his needs by bandaging up his wounds. But there is another quality of this gracious man that we learn as well, beloved. He knew that his "roadside assistance" would not be enough to save the man's life. So the Samaritan put the man on his own beast of burden and took him to the nearest inn for nursing and rehabilitation. In other words, we might say that the Samaritan committed himself to "the long haul."
Ministry needs today as Christians will often cause us to have to commit to "the long haul," beloved. We cannot get by with merely slapping a band-aid on the hurt and hurrying back to our own lives. We are going to encounter people for whom a bag of groceries and a card with money in it are not going to be enough. What do we do as followers of Jesus Christ when the Spirit of God leads us across the path of such ones as these? We must decide, as did the Samaritan, whether or not we are going to be in it for "the long haul"! We are going to have to decide whether or not we will arrange for more extensive and often more costly care. Before we become involved in ministry to this world, then, we must decide how far we are willing to go. What would Jesus do? What did Jesus do? Let His example guide us as we venture forth as His servants to take His love to a world that desperately needs Him so much.
Ron
Thursday, February 4, 2010
The Samaritan's Need to be Fully Involved
"...and came to him, and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them" (Luke 10:34b)
One the most unusual "reality" television programs currently being aired, beloved, is called Dirty Jobs. The premise is simply that the host of the program each week travels from location to location and tries his hand at some of the dirtiest, filthiest, most disgusting jobs that can be found for him. On those occasions that I have had opportunity to briefly watch just a few moments of any of these episodes, I know without a doubt that some of the things he has done I could never bring myself to do!
In Jesus' telling of the story about the Samaritan traveler and the wounded Hebrew victim, He made it clear that even being "inconvenienced," as we considered in our previous devotional, is not enough at times when it comes to ministering to the needs of those around us. Note carefully what the Samaritan did, beloved - he "bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them." This gracious man was willing to get down in the dirt and get blood on his hands! And that was the point at which his ministering went beyond the point of personal inconvenience and became downright "dirty." How well I recall being on a mission trip to the mountains of southeastern Kentucky with a large group of believers from a number of different churches. That was the "safe" part of the trip! On one particular day, however, I was given the opportunity to travel up the mountain with several other men, transporting a used but usable electric stove on the back of a truck. We made our winding way upward to a small ramshackle house perched precariously on the steep slope of the mountain, anchored to it only along the rear wall and "propped up" on the other three sides underneath by tree stumps and stacked stones and bricks. A young family came out of the house to meet us and to show us where they needed the stove to be. As we unloaded that stove, beloved, it began to rain. The hill on which the house sat was mostly clay and soon we found ourselves humanly "hoisting" that stove up a very steep slope, two men pulling from above on a rope slung around the bottom of the stove and the rest of us pushing from underneath and actually laying in the clay to do so. That was literally one "dirty" job! Yet to see the joy on the face of that young wife and to know what that used stove would mean to her made it all worth it. And, of course, through that act of ministering we had the privilege of sharing the good news of Jesus' love with them.
If we are going to serve Jesus Christ in our world today in a manner that impacts people for the sake of the gospel, we are going to have to be committed to becoming fully involved. We cannot turn away from the "dirty" needs of life, beloved. Not every situation that you will face as a servant of Christ will be "dirty," perhaps not even most of them. But those that are "dirty" are out there and those in such situations need our help just as much. How we need to determine here and now that we are going to be fully involved in people's lives, ministering to them where they are the wondrous love of God in Jesus Christ!
Ron
One the most unusual "reality" television programs currently being aired, beloved, is called Dirty Jobs. The premise is simply that the host of the program each week travels from location to location and tries his hand at some of the dirtiest, filthiest, most disgusting jobs that can be found for him. On those occasions that I have had opportunity to briefly watch just a few moments of any of these episodes, I know without a doubt that some of the things he has done I could never bring myself to do!
In Jesus' telling of the story about the Samaritan traveler and the wounded Hebrew victim, He made it clear that even being "inconvenienced," as we considered in our previous devotional, is not enough at times when it comes to ministering to the needs of those around us. Note carefully what the Samaritan did, beloved - he "bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them." This gracious man was willing to get down in the dirt and get blood on his hands! And that was the point at which his ministering went beyond the point of personal inconvenience and became downright "dirty." How well I recall being on a mission trip to the mountains of southeastern Kentucky with a large group of believers from a number of different churches. That was the "safe" part of the trip! On one particular day, however, I was given the opportunity to travel up the mountain with several other men, transporting a used but usable electric stove on the back of a truck. We made our winding way upward to a small ramshackle house perched precariously on the steep slope of the mountain, anchored to it only along the rear wall and "propped up" on the other three sides underneath by tree stumps and stacked stones and bricks. A young family came out of the house to meet us and to show us where they needed the stove to be. As we unloaded that stove, beloved, it began to rain. The hill on which the house sat was mostly clay and soon we found ourselves humanly "hoisting" that stove up a very steep slope, two men pulling from above on a rope slung around the bottom of the stove and the rest of us pushing from underneath and actually laying in the clay to do so. That was literally one "dirty" job! Yet to see the joy on the face of that young wife and to know what that used stove would mean to her made it all worth it. And, of course, through that act of ministering we had the privilege of sharing the good news of Jesus' love with them.
If we are going to serve Jesus Christ in our world today in a manner that impacts people for the sake of the gospel, we are going to have to be committed to becoming fully involved. We cannot turn away from the "dirty" needs of life, beloved. Not every situation that you will face as a servant of Christ will be "dirty," perhaps not even most of them. But those that are "dirty" are out there and those in such situations need our help just as much. How we need to determine here and now that we are going to be fully involved in people's lives, ministering to them where they are the wondrous love of God in Jesus Christ!
Ron
Thursday, January 28, 2010
A Samaritan's Need to be Interrupted
"...and came to him, and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them" (Luke 10:34a)
Have you ever been occupied with something, beloved, only to have the doorbell ring or a neighbor walk up, or some other interruption occur that completely stopped you in your tracks? At such times nothing is more annoying than having to stop what you are doing, having to lose your focus and turn to something else!
The Samaritan was on a journey of his own. He had business appointments to keep, an agenda to be carried out, places to go and people to see. Yet when he found the wounded Hebrew on the road between Jerusalem and Jericho, all of that changed. In the words "(he) came to him," we discover a man who cared so much about this hapless victim that he was willing to have his own journey interrupted, his own schedule set aside. And it was at this precise moment that ministry became "costly" for him.
You and I as Christians are going to have to be willing to be "inconvenienced" if we are ever going to help others by ministering to their needs in the love of Jesus. I recall a personal experience that speaks to this need graphically. While serving as a pastor when I was much younger, I had the responsibility for keeping the parsonage grass cut. I was free to use the church's riding mower and was only too glad to do so. What annoyed me, however, were the "interruptions" of finding objects laying in my path when I was flying along across the lawn at full speed. Ever been there? I did not like having to go through all of those safety steps that were then and are now designed into riding mowers - taking the mower out of gear, disengaging the blades, putting the mower in the "Park" position before it would allow me to dismount without the engine cutting off. So I developed my own technique for ridding myself of those pesky objects that dared to get in my way. I learned how to lean down at just the right angle, still flying along with the throttle wide open, and "scoop" up each object that was in my path. Certainly I would not recommend such a foolhardy practice to anyone in using a riding mower today, but that is what I did. And I did so all because I did not want my activity to be interrupted in any way!
Sometimes as Christians that is precisely how we try to minister to people's needs. We "fly through" their lives at breakneck speed, trying to slap a band-aid on whatever is wrong as we pass by. We simply are not willing to be inconvenienced or to have our own agendas interrupted. Yet the Samaritan in Jesus' parable teaches us that ministry requires us to be willing to make the needs of others our highest priority. Very simply, "he came to him." What are you willing to give up in order to be a servant of Jesus Christ in showing His love to others, even in meeting people at the point of their deepest need?
Ron
Have you ever been occupied with something, beloved, only to have the doorbell ring or a neighbor walk up, or some other interruption occur that completely stopped you in your tracks? At such times nothing is more annoying than having to stop what you are doing, having to lose your focus and turn to something else!
The Samaritan was on a journey of his own. He had business appointments to keep, an agenda to be carried out, places to go and people to see. Yet when he found the wounded Hebrew on the road between Jerusalem and Jericho, all of that changed. In the words "(he) came to him," we discover a man who cared so much about this hapless victim that he was willing to have his own journey interrupted, his own schedule set aside. And it was at this precise moment that ministry became "costly" for him.
You and I as Christians are going to have to be willing to be "inconvenienced" if we are ever going to help others by ministering to their needs in the love of Jesus. I recall a personal experience that speaks to this need graphically. While serving as a pastor when I was much younger, I had the responsibility for keeping the parsonage grass cut. I was free to use the church's riding mower and was only too glad to do so. What annoyed me, however, were the "interruptions" of finding objects laying in my path when I was flying along across the lawn at full speed. Ever been there? I did not like having to go through all of those safety steps that were then and are now designed into riding mowers - taking the mower out of gear, disengaging the blades, putting the mower in the "Park" position before it would allow me to dismount without the engine cutting off. So I developed my own technique for ridding myself of those pesky objects that dared to get in my way. I learned how to lean down at just the right angle, still flying along with the throttle wide open, and "scoop" up each object that was in my path. Certainly I would not recommend such a foolhardy practice to anyone in using a riding mower today, but that is what I did. And I did so all because I did not want my activity to be interrupted in any way!
Sometimes as Christians that is precisely how we try to minister to people's needs. We "fly through" their lives at breakneck speed, trying to slap a band-aid on whatever is wrong as we pass by. We simply are not willing to be inconvenienced or to have our own agendas interrupted. Yet the Samaritan in Jesus' parable teaches us that ministry requires us to be willing to make the needs of others our highest priority. Very simply, "he came to him." What are you willing to give up in order to be a servant of Jesus Christ in showing His love to others, even in meeting people at the point of their deepest need?
Ron
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
A Samaritan's Need for Compassion
"But a certain Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion" (Luke 10:33)
We discovered together in last week's devotional, beloved, that watchfulness in our Christian walk is so very important. Still as we read this wonderful parable of Jesus, it occurs to us that both the priest and the Levite were also "watchful." They had both seen the wounded traveler as they hurried along in pursuit of their own interests. So what set the Samaritan apart from the two of them was that not only had he seen the robbers' victim, but that he had also "felt compassion" for him. It is certainly one thing to see the needs of those around us, beloved, but it is quite another for us to care enough to do something about them.
But what was it that made the Samaritan so different than those who had passed by before him? Much has been written and spoken about the callousness of the priest and the religious narrow-mindedness of the Levite, certainly both observations of human nature that are true. But I do not personally believe that the Samaritan had compassion on the wounded man simply because he was a "better" human being. Recall with me for a moment just what it meant to be a "Samaritan" in Jesus' day. Born of both Jewish and Gentile blood, the Samaritans were a hated people-group, rejected by Hebrews because they had pagan blood and by the Gentiles because they had Jewish blood. They were a people despised and rejected by everyone! Certainly as he came upon the wounded traveler that day, the Samaritan's heart went out to him. He and his people had long been thrown aside and left as useless. Something in his heart reached out to one whom he found to be a man not unlike himself.
How are we as Christians like the Samaritan in Jesus' parable, beloved? How do we relate to his attitude and his actions in ministering to one so unfortunate and in need? We do so by remembering that we are all born into sin, lost to the goodness of God and condemned to an eternity without Him. We recall that as sinners we have no hope in and of ourselves of every changing our true condition before God. We recall that if not for the love and mercy of God Himself in the person of Jesus Christ, we would this very day still be in our sins and headed for an eternity of torment apart from the love and mercy of God. We keep ever fresh in our minds the fact that the love of God in Christ has touched us by grace, unworthy though we will ever be, and that we have been adopted into the family of God, that we are eternally loved and accepted "in the Beloved" (Ephesians 1:6). And when we in life come across those "wounded" ones to whom the Spirit of God may lead us, the realization of our own "fallenness" will cause God's love in us to well up and reach out to help. It will be because we are spiritual "Samaritans" that we will love others enough to bring them to the Savior, beloved. As a bumper sticker from some years ago stated so eloquently: "Christians aren't perfect, only forgiven."
To truly care should be the easiest task for a genuine believer, beloved. As we walk through this life in watchfulness, our hearts will reach out to those whom we encounter, ministering to them the love of God in Jesus' name because of His shed blood. To do less leaves us...well, in company with the priest and Levite. Enough said.
Ron
We discovered together in last week's devotional, beloved, that watchfulness in our Christian walk is so very important. Still as we read this wonderful parable of Jesus, it occurs to us that both the priest and the Levite were also "watchful." They had both seen the wounded traveler as they hurried along in pursuit of their own interests. So what set the Samaritan apart from the two of them was that not only had he seen the robbers' victim, but that he had also "felt compassion" for him. It is certainly one thing to see the needs of those around us, beloved, but it is quite another for us to care enough to do something about them.
But what was it that made the Samaritan so different than those who had passed by before him? Much has been written and spoken about the callousness of the priest and the religious narrow-mindedness of the Levite, certainly both observations of human nature that are true. But I do not personally believe that the Samaritan had compassion on the wounded man simply because he was a "better" human being. Recall with me for a moment just what it meant to be a "Samaritan" in Jesus' day. Born of both Jewish and Gentile blood, the Samaritans were a hated people-group, rejected by Hebrews because they had pagan blood and by the Gentiles because they had Jewish blood. They were a people despised and rejected by everyone! Certainly as he came upon the wounded traveler that day, the Samaritan's heart went out to him. He and his people had long been thrown aside and left as useless. Something in his heart reached out to one whom he found to be a man not unlike himself.
How are we as Christians like the Samaritan in Jesus' parable, beloved? How do we relate to his attitude and his actions in ministering to one so unfortunate and in need? We do so by remembering that we are all born into sin, lost to the goodness of God and condemned to an eternity without Him. We recall that as sinners we have no hope in and of ourselves of every changing our true condition before God. We recall that if not for the love and mercy of God Himself in the person of Jesus Christ, we would this very day still be in our sins and headed for an eternity of torment apart from the love and mercy of God. We keep ever fresh in our minds the fact that the love of God in Christ has touched us by grace, unworthy though we will ever be, and that we have been adopted into the family of God, that we are eternally loved and accepted "in the Beloved" (Ephesians 1:6). And when we in life come across those "wounded" ones to whom the Spirit of God may lead us, the realization of our own "fallenness" will cause God's love in us to well up and reach out to help. It will be because we are spiritual "Samaritans" that we will love others enough to bring them to the Savior, beloved. As a bumper sticker from some years ago stated so eloquently: "Christians aren't perfect, only forgiven."
To truly care should be the easiest task for a genuine believer, beloved. As we walk through this life in watchfulness, our hearts will reach out to those whom we encounter, ministering to them the love of God in Jesus' name because of His shed blood. To do less leaves us...well, in company with the priest and Levite. Enough said.
Ron
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