Mike Hosey, Elder |
I love how
Jesus can expose our true personal situations with such clarity. Consider the
story of The Good Samaritan, which by the way, isn’t really about the Samaritan
at all (Luke 10:25-37).
In this
story, an expert in the law approached Jesus and asked him what he could do to
get into Heaven. Jesus simply asked him what the law said, and the man answered
by quoting Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18. These verses essentially tell
us to love God with everything, and to love our neighbors as we love ourselves.
The man, wanting to justify himself,
immediately asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor.” Jesus told him a story of how a
man had been beaten by thieves on the side of the road and left for dead, and
how two religious leaders, who would have known the above quoted law very well,
passed by the man using the opposite side of the road without stopping to
render any assistance. Then Jesus described how a half-breed piece of white
trash (which is what the Jews considered the Samaritans) chose not to pass
In Florida’s 21st century economy, that would be about $360
for the average wage earner. The expert
in the law recognized the Samaritan was a good neighbor, and that the Samaritan’s
love (or commitment) for others had been proven. So Jesus commanded him to go
and live like the Samaritan.
by the
injured man, but instead helped him, cared for his wounds, and left him at an
inn to recover until he could return. The Samaritan then gave the inn keeper
two days of wages to care for the man.
George Frederic Watts |
The two
religious leaders in this story illustrate a profound truth. It is the sad
truth that one can know the law, but not live it. In fact, this may be the human
condition. All of us experience this weight from time to time. Even the Apostle Paul struggled with it
(Romans 7:15-20). The failure of those two religious leaders also gives us the
opportunity to ponder the nature of our spiritual knowledge and our spiritual
life. Our knowledge and our spiritual
life are completely intertwined. We cannot live the Bible without knowing the Bible. And because the Bible should be the core of
our life, we cannot know the Bible fully without living it.
That very Bible
teaches us to be committed to others as we are committed to ourselves. If we examine our lives in light of that
command, how do we measure up to living it?
Drats... lost my first comment trying to post it, in essence proof read @ In Florida's 21st :)
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