Jesus often spoke in parables. Parables were stories Jesus would share to convey a spiritual truth. One popular parable is the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:29-37). Perhaps reading it again will encourage you. In this parable Jesus tells of a man who was traveling and he was attacked by bandits, who robbed him, beat him, and left him for dead. He was badly wounded. People passed by. The priest on a mission crossed to the other side when he saw him… couldn’t be bothered. A Temple guard went to investigate, but kept on going as well. But then a Samaritan came by, took pity on him, and helped him.
In that culture, Samaritans were despised. No one wanted anything to do with them. If they were walking on the road, people would cross to the other side. Jewish people traveling from Galilee to Jerusalem would go way out of their way to avoid going into Samaria. Samaritans were isolated… outside of their community, they were hated, mocked, and ridiculed. They were outcasts. Yet, in our story this Samaritan felt compassion for this man (a Jewish man) and helped him get on his feet again.
As I pondered this parable again today, I was reminded that sometimes we get so focused on our own problems, our mission, our agenda, that we ignore the one God has put before us… the one who is hurting, the one who is weighed down with daunting circumstances, the one who is struggling to survive, the one who is alone, the one who is about to give up. Sometimes we ignore them because our judgment has clouded our vision. Their beliefs may not align with ours, their lifestyle is outside of God’s design, their bitter attitude comes spilling out of their mouth. Or maybe we’re just too busy to notice or we are so focused on our own problems to take the time to see others’ problems.
Here are two things I’m sure of… 1) God will put people with needs before us, and 2) We are to be just like the Samaritan. Hence, when we see someone who has fallen, or someone who is just too tired to continue, or someone who doesn’t even know Jesus, it is our responsibility to notice and come alongside them. Let me encourage you today to encourage someone, listen to someone, pray for someone. Stop what you’re doing, look beyond your issues, and help someone in need. Let these words encourage you today.