Running to the Fireનમૂનો

CALLED TO WORD AND DEED

Samaritan’s Purse is named after the parable of the Good Samaritan. This is a Bible story I love and have thought about a lot over the years. (So much so that we’re going to look at it today and tomorrow.)

The parable begins like this:

A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. (Luke 10:30–32, NIV)

Every time I read this, I tell myself that I never want to be like those two men. I don’t want to be too afraid or too pious or too hurried or too comfortable to stop and help.

But a fascinating and surprising twist came next, as Jesus made the hero of His parable a social outcast, someone despised by the Jewish religious leaders. A Samaritan, seeing the wounded man, provided first aid and took him to an inn where he could recuperate (vv. 33–35).

Allow me to break down his actions in the professional terms of NGO (nongovernmental organization) work:

• By bandaging the man’s wounds, the Samaritan gave emergency medicine.
• By putting the man on a donkey, he provided emergency logistics.
• By taking the man to an inn, he provided emergency shelter.
• ·By giving the man the required physical needs, he provided emergency water and food, along with some sort of covering (a blanket or robe), known as NFIs—nonfood items.

It was all about emergency response! But most important for us is the question Jesus asked at the end of this parable. Of the three—the priest, the Levite, and the Samaritan—which acted like a neighbor (v. 36)? Of course it was the Samaritan.

We need to understand the connection Jesus makes here between knowing what is required and taking action—the go and do. He calls us to both word and deed.

Is your faith unbalanced in the direction of either word or deed? What could you do to restore a wholeness to your representation of the gospel in the world?