Being truly kind is usually not convenient. We are often tested with an opportunity to be
kind at the busiest or most inopportune times in our lives. If you heard about a classmate who was filing
for bankruptcy, what would you do? Would
you go out of your way to do all that you could? Would you do anything at all or would you
gossip about it? What about a church member? If you heard that a church member was
desperately in need of help with their children, would you offer your time or
your resources? What if you were driving
through a dodgy part of town and saw someone being beat up and left for dead in
the gutter? Would you stop? Would you get out of your car, put yourself
in danger and help that person? WHAT
WOULD YOU DO?!
To being wise,
A certain lawyer asked Jesus “Teacher, what shall I do to
inherit eternal life?”, in response, Jesus asked “What is written in the law
and what is your reading of it?”, the lawyer replied “You shall love the Lord
your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength and
with all your mind and your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus said “You answered rightly”, but the
lawyer said “Who is my neighbor?” It is here that Jesus begins to tell the
parable of the Good Samaritan (please refer to Luke 10:30 – 36).
There are three things that stand out to us in this
parable. 1) The kindness of the
Samaritan, 2) the kindness of the innkeeper and 3) the charge that was left to
us by Christ.
1)
The Samaritan. The half-dead man was seen by three different
men. It is important to note that the
man was a Jew and appeared to be dead, which according to the law deemed him
unclean to touch. A priest sees the man
and assumes, without looking, that he is dead.
He crosses the road to pass the man by.
A Levite sees the man, looks him over and without close investigation,
assumes he is dead and passes him by.
However, when a Samaritan sees the man, in spite of the danger, the
difference of their ethnicities and his own limited resources, he stops. The Samaritan stops, looks and investigates,
he does what the victim’s own people would not do. He had rationed out oil and wine for his
journey and yet he used his provisions and camel to tend to the half-dead man’s
wounds and transport him to safety.
2)
The Innkeeper. The Innkeeper shows another form of kindness. The Samaritan leaves the half-dead man after
one day and leaves two Denarii (roughly 28 days’ worth of money, think of it as
28 days of hotel fees or around $2800). The
Samaritan trusted the Innkeeper to care for the man until he returned and
expected him to pay for any additional expenses. This Innkeeper used all his resources, time
and effort to heal this man.
3)
Our Charge. Likewise, we are called to be Innkeepers. Like the Innkeeper, Jesus has given us Denarii
in the form of time, homes, money, talents, spiritual gifts, etc. to be used in
service to others. As the Samaritan
brought the half-dead man to the Innkeeper, Jesus will present individuals in
need at our doorstep. Can we be
trusted? Will we use all of our
resources to help? Or will we be too
inconvenienced or too preoccupied to stop, look and investigate.
When we live our lives filled with kindness, these acts draw
the attention of others to the abnormality of the situation. Kindness is not a normal human attribute, we
are conditioned to pay only what we owe and give only what is required. God does not operate that way, He gives us
far more than we deserve. His loving
kindness bestowed upon us through endless grace is the source of our ability to
be kind. Kindness reveals the full
countenance of God within us and imparts His favor.
To being wise,
Meredith, Jennifer and Marisa
