Just Moms

Luke 10:30-37

30Jesus replied and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away leaving him half dead.

31″And by chance a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.

32″Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.

33″But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion,

34and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him.

35″On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return I will repay you.’

36″Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?”

37And he said, “The one who showed mercy toward him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do the same.”

Now that we’ve all read this passage (for some it may have been the ump-teenth time reading it, and for some it may have been the first time reading it), but let me ask you a question…

Are you the priest? The Levite? Or the Samaritan?

All of us probably WANT to say the Samaritan. That is because we can read Christ’s response at the end of this passage. And we want to be the one that Christ wants us to be. But are we?

I am one of those that have read this passage for the “umpteenth” time. However, reading it this past week was a bit different. I noticed a small, 4-letter word that made a huge difference for me. Do you know that that word is?

w-h-e-n. When.

Look at verse 33. It says “when he saw him, he felt compassion”.

Two things happened at the same time here. He saw him and felt compassion. He didn’t see him and then think about being compassionate. He didn’t see him and ignore his need. He didn’t see him and then debate whether he had the time to help. WHEN HE SAW HIM HE FELT COMPASSION.

What would you do in this situation?

You’re in a rush and have to make a quick stop to Walmart. You see a woman in a motorized wheelchair strugglling to grab something on a higher shelf. What are you going to do?

Now granted, this woman isn’t exactly in the “condition” that the man in this passage was in. She hasn’t been mugged and beaten up. But she IS in need, regardless of the extent of the need.

Do you pretend not to notice and walk on by?
Do you see her and walk in another direction?
Do you walk past her, say hello, and continue walking?
Do you tell an employee that she needs help as you walk by?
Do you stop and watch her for a while, debating whether you should help or not? (not realizing you could have helped already and been on your way in the same amount of time you’ve been debating it!)
Do you say “forget the time, I’m going to help!” and actually follow through?

Once you see the need you will be held accountable for how you respond. We can’t always help the way that we want to or the way that they need help. But God knows the help that they need. Maybe what they need is you to pray about their need. Maybe they need you to lift them up in prayer and ask that someone will be able to help the way that they need it.

We must respond to others needs! Whether it’s doing it ourselves, getting someone else to do it, or praying for God to provide for their need.

How are you responding?