Morning Moments

Loving Those We Have Learned To Hate

Why should Jesus not hate you and me? We were born alienated from the life of God in Christ Jesus.

We were by nature children of the devil by birth

We were at war against God by selfishness.

BUT GOD, who is RICH IN MERCY…!

Luke 10:30
And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
31 And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
32 And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.
33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,
34 And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
35 And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.
36 Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?
37 And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.

Who is your neighbor?

Who do you hate because they are different from you? I can hear someone say, “I don’t hate anybody.” Let me put it this way…who do you think this world would be better without? Who would you “drive by” and not take personal care of if they were injured and dying?

I have been guilty of bringing “strays” home with me, but sometimes that is certainly not wise. The Samaritan in our text did not take is stranger home with him, but he did provide a place and the means of recovery.

I remember reading the testimony of a Muslim convert to Christianity. He read the Bible and could not get over the teaching of Jesus to “love your enemies.” Jesus said, “Love you neighbor.” In a world of hatred, we must be examples of God’s love and grace.

Anybody and everybody is your neighbor who is hurting and need help! AND…who doesn’t need help? We are not instructed to share our home necessarily, but we are instructed to share our heart by showing concern and compassion. I have failed to do that many times and maybe you have also.

I see several things the “Samaritan” shared with this “neighbor” in need:

His TIME…maybe he had an important meeting or whatever BUT he took time to care.

His TRUST…he wasn’t concerned about recovering anything…he just chose to “do the right thing.”

His TREATMENT…there is no record of him being a physician, but he “doctored” the man anyway.

His TREASURE…the word “whatever” is an interesting one to me because he was willing to cover the medicine and the motel. WOW!

DON’T miss the point here! The point is not the cost, but the care. The point is not the money, but the man. The point is not the nationality, but the neighbor.

This is a message of conviction for me and maybe it will be for all of us who are “priests” and “Levites”.

BLESSINGS!