|
Devotion: The Good Samaritan
By Reni K Jacob, Advocacy Director for World Vision India
By Reni K Jacob, Advocacy
Director for World Vision India
|
|
Luke: 10: 25-37
The story of the Good Samaritan is introduced when an expert of the law asks the most important spiritual question that can ever be asked: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Jesus Christ affirmed the Biblical command, “Love your neighbour as yourself,” and said, “Do this and you will live.”
Jesus’ answer demonstrates that loving God means loving one’s neighbour – they are two sides of the same coin. Any action on earth is an action in the spiritual realm.
|
The expert in the law then asks, “Who is my neighbour?”
Jesus answers with the story of the Good Samaritan, which portrays a neighbour as someone who helps another person in need.
|
|
When confronted with a situation of need, do we base our response on what will happen to the needy, or what will happen to us?
|
In the story, a man is attacked by robbers and left on the roadside for dead. The only passerby to lend a hand, “the good Samaritan,” is upheld as being a neighbour to the man in need. The Samaritan, who is guided by loving compassion, does not care whether the man in need is a Jew or a Samaritan. His attitude toward all human beings is one and the same.
The Samaritan got down from his donkey, when he too could have been attacked and robbed, to care for the man, “bandaging his wounds, pouring on oil and wine.” The Samaritan’s daring nature makes the story unique. He was willing to change his priorities when confronted with a man in dire need.
Then the Samaritan took the man to an inn and took care of him until the next morning, when he provided the innkeeper with the resources to properly look after the man. In this way, the Samaritan provided sustainable care for the man. He didn’t simply offer help for a day, but enough until the man could get back on his feet again.
The “other-centred” nature of the Samaritan stands in contrast to the “self-centred” nature of the Priest and the Levite who passed by. The Samaritan probably thought, “What will happen to him if I do not help him now?” while the priest and the Levite probably thought, “What will happen to me if I help him now?” They pulled back from showing compassion because they worried about what consequences they might endure.
The story provokes us to ask ourselves what our guiding motive is. When confronted with a situation of need, do we base our response on what will happen to the needy, or what will happen to us?
The story challenges us to prioritise the needs of others ahead of our own needs. If we are to inherit eternal life, we are to be the loving hand of God in the lives of others. We are to help those in need regardless of whether they are strangers or friends because that is what Jesus did in his life, and what he wants to continue to do for others through our lives.
|
