The Parable of the Good Samaritian

Luke 10:25 - 37 (NLT)

“A Jewish man was traveling on a trip from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road. By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. A temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side. Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’ “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.” Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”

It is so interesting to experience the bible so directly in our lives and to translate the knowledge from an intellectual one to an experiential one. Recently I have the "privilege" to come across this story from my friends who was preparing for their marriage.

They were once very fervent in serving the church and the church community but because of some incidents were no longer doing so. Recently as they were preparing for their wedding, they needed some people to be their key helpers for the event. Due to their commitment to the church community previously, they were not so in contact with their own friends outside the church community. As such, they could only turn to those whom serve with them in the past from church for help.

They encountered mixed responses to their requests from the people they asked, ranging from the enthusiastic and supportive ones to those who were hesitant. The interesting fact was that those who were hesitant were the ones who served as fellow church leaders with them in the past. They were hesitant as they needed to be involved to run service on Sat for their group. I can imagine myself in the shoes of my friends and how they are to make sense of these people.

How to we serve God? Does serving God entail only doing religious matter, e.g. running church service, leading caregroup, etc? Or is it that helping a fellow brother and sister in Christ who's getting married once in a life time, less desirable than running service (which takes place 52 weeks a year?). Does it mean that we are loving God lesser if we were to help out in the wedding while ignoring running of service?

We have on hand, a real-life case study for Luke 10:25 - 37, and something for us to experience and learn experientially. It beats having to attend church service and listen to pastors preaching week after week.

My personal reflection is this: I would rather have a Samaritian for friend anytime than a Priest or a Temple Assistant. The Samaritian may not be perfect or religious (attending service or caregroup regularly) but at least the Samaritian reflects Christ and His love in my life.