City Life Starter

Written by Stefan Johnsson

The Word

³³ But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. ³⁴ So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

Luke 10:33-34

⁴³ “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, ⁴⁵ that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. ⁴⁶ For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? ⁴⁷ And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? ⁴⁸ Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

Matthew 5:43-48 (NKJV)

Reflection

I had an opportunity to visit Israel in 2016 as part of a trip that Ji Yun organized (Tirosh Expeditions). It was an eye opening experience to see the historical sights associated with the Bible. We didn’t get to see everything there as this would take more than 9 days, but one thing we did do was take a short road trip east of Jerusalem and looked over the desert and what would be part of the road to Jericho. The Good Samaritan story would have taken place in this area and being there helped me understand what the terrain looked like.

Arie Bar-David (our tour guide) explained the story of the Good Samaritan in great detail. His mind is a treasure trove of Biblical facts, stories, and knowledge. The way he explained who a Samaritan would be in the context of our present day society, is someone similar to an ISIL member (i.e. a terrorist). I reflected on this to understand it within our present society in Houston as we do not live in the Middle East. I would later write about this in my book, Breaking Barriers. Our “enemies” are those whom we shun. These individtuals may despise anyone who is Christian, hold different views than your own, or have hurt you in the past. It could also be those who hold different values, be it politically, racially, or economically.

If a Samaritan helped this man, it means that being a Christian does not automatically qualify you as good. Let us set this fact straight first as many of us would easily fall into this category of a priest and Levite. Other people can also do good deeds because we area all born in the image of God. Everyone can love those who love them. Few can love their enemies.

Do not assume you are better than someone else, you should always be compassionate and caring as Jesus was. Your religious beliefs do not automatically qualify you as a servant of Christ. Let us remember that our actions speak louder than words and showing contempt or hate to a group of people who are different from us only reinforces that we belong to the world and not to God. Show love through your actions to those who hate you, and pray for them daily.

breaking Barriers, p 51

Application

Scott Fiddler challenged the rest of us to write about what the Good Samaritan parable means. The one meaning that I hope you all get out of this is simply what Jesus says in Matthew 5:43-48. Love your enemies. Pray for those who mistreat you. It is easy to do good to those who have done you no wrong, but who dares to treat an enemy well?

Are you showing Christ’s love to those who are your “enemies”? If not, then ask God to soften your heart. If that means forgiving them, then do this first. And yes, some people may require much more forgiveness than others in order to show them love.

Prayer

Father in heaven, help me to be more like You. Help me to rely on the Holy Spirit in order to love my enemies. It is a hard thing to do, to love those who do not love me back. Even to those who have hurt me or caused me pain. I know that I do not have the power to do so on my own. Let me rely on Your grace and power to do so. Help me to pray for those who have done me wrong. In the name of Jesus I pray, amen.