What Kind of Stranger Are You?

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.  Love your neighbor as yourself.  Luke 10:27

 

The sun beat down relentlessly on his half-clothed body as he lay in the dirt fighting for his next painful breath. Thoughts of his family flashed through his mind, giving him the strength to try yet again to push himself up on his arms.  Cries of pain and frustration broke the silence as he fell back into the blood-soaked soil.

Footsteps!  He managed to raise his head and make out the robes of a priest through his swollen eyes.  Hope dawned in his heart as the footsteps came closer and died again as they faded into the distance.  Why? Why wouldn’t a man of God help him?

A shadow? How much time had passed? He reached out a hand to the faceless form that gave him a brief respite from the scorching sun before slinking away without saying a word.  A tear slid down his cheek as he closed his eyes.  Did no one care?

An eternity passed before he felt strong, gentle hands lift his head and hold water to his dry, cracked lips.  Was this a dream?  His eyes wouldn’t focus.  Was that a Samaritan? Surely not. Why, he’d never heard anything good about Samaritans.

 But this wasn’t a Samaritan or a Jew – this was a man. This was a neighbor.  This was the person who cared.

 We’ve all read the story of the Good Samaritan.  I’ve always looked at this story from the perspective of the Jew or the Samaritan.  But lately I have been looking at it through the eyes of the Priest and Temple assistant. It is so easy to judge them.  Of course, WE would have done things differently, right?  But I think there is a lot to learn here.

 First, they were both representatives of the church; as a Christian so am I. Second, they were both people – with the same emotional baggage I have.  Their daily responsibilities were no doubt much different from mine yet I’m sure they had a purpose for being on the road right then and were on a schedule.  They were no doubt fearful when they saw the Jew beaten and lying on the road.  What if the robbers came back? Let’s face it.  We can always find a reason NOT to stop, but we have to keep in mind that the whole reason Jesus told this story was to illustrate His command to “love your neighbor as yourself.”  There were two types of strangers in this story.  The strangers who concentrated more on themselves and how the consequences of their actions would affect THEM.  And the stranger who gave no thought to himself but to the needs of his neighbor.

So there was a point in time in which the Priest had to decide “what kind of stranger am I?”  – Is my schedule more important than a hurting man?

 And there was a point in time in which the Temple assistant had to decide “what kind of stranger am I?” – Do my fears outweigh my desire to obey God?

And there was a point in time when the Good Samaritan had to decide “what kind of stranger am I?” – Is there really anything more important right now than showing the love of God to this hurting man?

And there are points daily you and I must decide, “WHAT KIND OF STRANGER AM I?”

• The kind with blinders that doesn’t “see” the need, hoping it will go away?
• The kind that reasons out why it’s not MY responsibility?
• The neighbor who loves others as myself?

“Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked.

 The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.”

 The Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”