The Good Samaritan Parable is about having compassion for and helping others; even our enemies. Is this possible? Can we truly love those who hate and despise us? Is Creator asking too much of us? Yeah, I know, that sounds stupid. Creator would not ask us to do something we are not capable of doing. As human beings (Created in God's image) we do have this capacity for compassion within us.
Do you know what the first message in the satanic bible is? Did you know that the satanic religion even had a bible? Anyway, it says that it is not possible for anyone to love everyone, so why bother trying? Makes you wonder, doesn't it? If you truly don't think that loving everyone is possible ..... maybe you should reconsider your viewpoint. Just a thought.
The Good Samaritan
Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. 'Teacher,' he said, 'what must I do to inherit eternal life?' He said to him, 'What is written in the law? What do you read there?' He answered, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbour as yourself.' And he said to him, 'You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.'
But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, 'And who is my neighbour?' Jesus replied, 'A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, "Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend." Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?' He said, 'The one who showed him mercy.' Jesus said to him, 'Go and do likewise.' ....... Luke 10:25-37
At the time of this story, the Jews and the Samaritans were enemies. The first two people who saw this injured man were both Jewish (the injured man's own countrymen), and yet it was the Samaritan (the enemy of the Jews) who actually stopped and helped this man. A very good friend of mine, who is an expert in Judaic Law told me, and I quote:
"Jesus was illustrating how the entirety of Halachah (the practical walking out of the Torah commands) is thrown out of the window to save a life.
The Samaritans had no such allegiance to Halachah, so it was simple for a Samaritan to come to the aid of the injured party without concern about defiling himself. The Jews who were bound by Halachah feared defilement from the blood of the injured party or had some other reason not to come to his aid which conformed to Halachah. Jesus merely emphasized what later became a major rule of Halachah itself: that the entire Halachah goes out the window to save a life.
This is especially significant because he definitely promoted Orthodox Halachah re: 'your righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and the Pharisees' by DOING and GUARDING the Torah. Guarding the Torah refers to the Halachic 'fences', which if not crossed will ensure that the Torah is kept."
Now this may have just been a convenient excuse that they used to pass by and not help this man, or maybe they were just doing what they thought was right according to their religious beliefs. I guess we will never know. However, we know now, according to what Jesus taught, that we must go out of our comfort zone and help other people. If we have a conflict between our religious beliefs and helping a fellow human being, we really need to do the right thing and help out our neighbor.
Many are under the false impression that since Jesus died on the cross, they now have a free ride to heaven. Sorry to burst their bubble, but no one gets a free ride. Everyone will be judged by what they have heard and what they have done. If they have heard the truth and ignored it, then they will have to answer for that. Jesus did not die on the cross to wash away our sins; he died on the cross to repair the Covenant between the God of Israel and the 10 Northern Tribes of Israel. Since they are sometimes called the House of Joseph, I am thinking that maybe that covenant had to be repaired before the House of Judah and the House of Joseph could be reunited as prophesied in Ezekial 37. Just thinking out loud here.
That being said, it is our actions that dictate whether we regain our place with Creator or not. And our actions are dictated by what is in our heart. The Samaritan in this parable showed us what was in his heart. If we hold only love and compassion in our heart, then all our actions will reflect only love and compassion. Many people say that you cannot earn your way into heaven by works. That is true, but Jesus said, "by their fruits ye shall know them." You do not do good works because you are trying to get to heaven, you do good works because that is who you are.
If we live and breathe love without conditions all our actions will be based on love and compassion. Since God is Love, then it only stands to reason that the more love we can build within ourselves, the closer we will get to Him. Love without conditions is the key.
Always keep this in mind ... whenever something bad happens, what is your first reaction? Your first reaction will tell you who you truly are. If your first reaction is anger, then you are filled with anger. If your first reaction is to strike back, then your heart is not full of love and compassion. If your first reaction is pity and compassion for the other person, then you are on the right path.
The Good Samaritan had compassion and love for this enemy. By his actions here, we can tell what was in his heart. We can tell what kind of a person this Samaritan really was. Just because someone is labeled as your enemy, does not mean that he is.
Love energy is a very powerful force. In fact, love is the most powerful force in the universe. If you treat everyone you come in contact with with love and compassion, then most of the time, they will treat you the same way. If they are still mean and nasty to you, you simply must love them even more, because only the love energy can change them.
In the next world we will all live in harmony. We will all help out each other without expecting anything in return. Money will be a thing of the past. Hate will be wiped out. Our own energy levels will be high enough that diseases will no longer exist, and our bodies will not age. It will be a joyous and wonderful thousand years of peace. I, for one, cannot wait. Love you all.
by Dale L Gustafson
Back to the Parables Page
Return to Pahana Lives Home Page
Enjoy this page? Please pay it forward. Here's how...
Would you prefer to share this page with others by linking to it?
- Click on the HTML link code below.
- Copy and paste it, adding a note of your own, into your blog, a Web page, forums, a blog comment,
your Facebook account, or anywhere that someone would find this page valuable.