Luke 10

  The last section of Luke 10 contains a couple familiar stories.  The first involves the most important question anyone will ever ask: “What do I need to do to get eternal life”?  That is what Jesus was asked by a religious scholar to test Him.  Do you remember what He said?  It was the story of the good Samaritan.  You may recall that “a man was traveling from Jerusalem to Jerico”.  Just an ordinary guy out doing his normal routine.  He gets attacked along the route which wasn’t uncommon as this was a somewhat dangerous trip to make.  The man was “attacked by robbers….beat him up…..leaving him half-dead”.  You get the picture – not pretty at all.  This poor man is beaten in the middle of no where and just left to die along the road.  I love the way the Message puts the next event: “Luckily, a priest was on his way down the same road”.  Good luck for this beaten man, one of God’s own is coming toward him.  Surely he will stop and help.  What happens: “when he saw him he angled across to the other side”.  Nothing happens except the priest turned his head and left him lying there on the road.  “Then a Levite religious man” comes along.  Surely this will change the beaten man’s plight.  Wrong as “he also avoided the injured man”.  Finally a lowly Samaritan comes walking down the road.  This guy wasn’t exactly connected to our injured man.  The Samaritans were persecuted and scorned.  But what happens?  The Samaritan’s “heart went out to him”.  He cared for him, lifted him up and took him to an inn.  Pay close attention to what the Samaritan tells the innkeeper: “Take good care of him. If it costs any more, put it on my bill”.  Whoa – this guy got involved.  He gave of self to help a man he did not know and by the world’s standards should not have cared about at all.  He also allowed his caring to extend into the future by offering to pay for the bill of caring for the beaten man’s recovery.  Are you walking by anyone who needs your help in life?  Are you failing to “pay the bill” for someone who needs your touch?  Remember where this story came from?  Jesus was asked how we “get eternal life”.  His response was simple – “go and do the same”.  Eternity is not about me.  It is about loving those Jesus put in my circle and those who cross my path.  It is loving like Jesus loved.  This story represents the way He came into my life.  I am a beaten man, beaten by sin, lying along the road of life dying, separated from God by my sin.  Unfortunated too often the church and religious people cross by on the other side.  But Jesus stops and picks us up.  He heals us and has paid the bill for our sin.  Jesus is the only way to eternity.  There is no other guys.  We need to share that truth as we live like Jesus did – caring for people that cross our path.  He put our sin on His bill.  He paid it all.  Thank you God for Jesus.