Oct 2 2011 .... The story of the Good Samaritan for today

Sitting here up again in the middle of the night cant sleep again.   Been dwelling on the story of the good Samaritan.   From the way i understand the story, the person he helped was laying on the side of the road, dying.  the religious leaders of the time walked by him on the other side, and would not reach out to him, because the Samaritans were consider 'half-breeds' by the church of that time, because they were only partially Jewish, not fully Jews.  The person who came by to help 'the good Samaritan' did not care about where the person came from, nor what he had.  He offered to help the person unconditionally, picked the person up, took him to get help to heal from his wounds, and even paid for his stay at an inn to recover from his wounds.  The good Samaritan even told the inn-keeper to let him know if he owed extra on his next travel in the area, and he would gladly pay the difference.


So sad that many Christians today fall into the part of the Pharisee.  They are not afraid to walk by the person who is dying on the side of the road, because they are not a part of their 'Christian' crowd.  so may times today it may not be physical dying, but spiritual, mental, emotional, and financial dying on the side of the road, but it does not matter to today's Christian.  As long as they have the Joel Olsteen 'health, wealth, and prosperity' attitude, that those who are not wealthy is being punished by God mentality, they really don't have love for their brother/sister in need.  I know for a fact many of these Christians don't even realize they bought this reality. Jesus says for us to love one other, but how is it showing love when someone asks for help, and no one helps?  The God will provide, and i'll pray for you and then don't is not enough.  Like the good Samaritan, we need to dive into the situation and help the person with their need
The good Samaritan did not ask the dying man in he had any money, nor did he ask how he budgeted and spent money in  his past.  He also did not ask how the person got ended up dying on the side of the road, not did he ask the dying person his plan on how he was going to heal himself.  The Good Samaritan dove into the pain and misery, and picked up the dying person JUST AS HE LAYED, and got him medical attention, and a place where he could recover properly.  He did not tell the person he needed to pay a tithe to God for this service, or have the person worry about how they were going to pay for the recovery.  The good Samaritan selflessly gave out of his heart all the resources needed for the dying person.   So many times today when Chrisitans offer to help those in need, they place so many strings on the help, that those in need don't receive the help.  What ever happened to 'Seeing a need, filling a need?'  We are so quick to fill out wants/desires, we quickly walk on the other side of the road of the dying person. A few examples of how this might look.  It could be the single mom who works 40hrs a week, and just can never provide basic needs for her and her child.  Maybe it is the couple who lost everything  and struggles month to month to live, because they are drowning financially, with debt collectors hounding them almost every time they breathe.  It might be the older person who has to choose food or medicine each month.  Or it may be the child who keeps getting bullied at school, who thinks suicide is their only option.  The dying person today can look many different ways, but when Christians consume themselves on SELF, they dont see anything else.
The song 'My Jesus by Todd Agnew is a good reminder to not live this way anymore.

Which Jesus do you follow?
Which Jesus do you serve?
If Ephesians says to imitate Christ
Then why do you look so much like the world?

Cause my Jesus bled and died
He spent His time with thieves and liars
He loved the poor and accosted the arrogant
So which one do you want to be?

Blessed are the poor in spirit
Or do we pray to be blessed with the wealth of this land
Blessed are they
that hunger and thirst for righteousness
Or do we ache for another taste of this world of shifting sand

Cause my Jesus bled and died for my sins
He spent His time with thieves and sluts and liars
He loved the poor and accosted the rich
So which one do you want to be?

Who is this that you follow
This picture
of the American dream
If Jesus was here would you walk right by on the other side or fall down and worship at His holy feet

Pretty blue eyes and curly brown hair and a clear complexion
Is how you see Him as He dies for Your sins
But the Word says He was battered and scarred
Or did you miss that part
Sometimes I doubt we'd recognize Him

Cause my Jesus bled and died
He spent His time with thieves and the least of these
He loved the poor and accosted the comfortable
So which one do you want to be?

Cause my Jesus would never be accepted in my church
The blood and dirt on His feet would stain the carpet
But He reaches for the hurting and despised the proud
I think He'd prefer Beale St. to the stained glass
crowd
And I know that He can hear me if I cry out loud

I want to be like my Jesus!
I want to be like my Jesus!

Not a posterchild for American prosperity, but like my Jesus
You see I'm tired of living for success and popularity
I want to be like my Jesus but I'm not sure what that means to be like You Jesus
Cause You said to live like You, love like You but then You died for me
Can I be like You Jesus?
I want to be like my Jesus

The Good news is that it's not too late to Repent if you have been like a Pharisee.  All is needed is to ask God to forgive you for your lack of love for others, and to ask God to give you HIS love for your fellow person, and then just watch God 's love for others radiate from you.  You will be amazed at the things God will reveal to you.

In Christ,

-Kevin.

Disclaimer:  This was not written with anyone in mind, so if you are convicted by it,  Seek God as to why.

Edit 8.17.12  Added YouTube video, and fixed spelling mistakes.