Last week I was challenged once again by the parable of The Good Samaritan. The word of the year for the creative team at church is Others, and Cass Langton (the global creative pastor for Hillsong) shared a brilliant message on what loving others truly looks like.
E M P A T H Y
There is so much tragedy in the world we are a part of that we can find ourselves becoming desensitized to the things that are so heavily affecting people every single day. The refugee crisis is one example. We hear stories and see photos and video footage that is shocking at first, but the more we see, the less it affects us. I pray that this will never become normal to us.
L I S T E N I N G
Each and every person has a story and in the midst of their story is a struggle. When was the last time you listened to the story of others?
A C T I O N
There are so many ways we can practically get involved in people's lives, but I think we first need to believe that each of us individually is meant to do something. Too often the thought that runs through my mind is "someone else", but when everyone else is believing that "someone else" will take care of it, we leave people unreached, without hope.
A R T
"The past will be our future until we have the courage to create a new one." (Erwin McManus - The Artisan Soul). Creativity plays such a large role in our ability to impact others, but where does our focus lie when we create? Are we looking for recognition, praise, to be reaching the multitudes? Or are we hoping that one day what we have created will reach one person and leave them a little more in love with and a little more hungry for the presence of Jesus? What will be there battle song?
What would heaven have us create for the sake of the one?
Defining “Neighbor”
25 Just then a religion scholar stood up with a question to test Jesus. “Teacher, what do I need to do to get eternal life?”
26 He answered, “What’s written in God’s Law? How do you interpret it?”
27 He said, “That you love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and muscle and intelligence—and that you love your neighbor as well as you do yourself.”
28 “Good answer!” said Jesus. “Do it and you’ll live.”
29 Looking for a loophole, he asked, “And just how would you define ‘neighbor’?”
30-32 Jesus answered by telling a story. “There was once a man traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho. On the way he was attacked by robbers. They took his clothes, beat him up, and went off leaving him half-dead. Luckily, a priest was on his way down the same road, but when he saw him he angled across to the other side. Then a Levite religious man showed up; he also avoided the injured man.
33-35 “A Samaritan traveling the road came on him. When he saw the man’s condition, his heart went out to him. He gave him first aid, disinfecting and bandaging his wounds. Then he lifted him onto his donkey, led him to an inn, and made him comfortable. In the morning he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take good care of him. If it costs any more, put it on my bill—I’ll pay you on my way back.’
36 “What do you think? Which of the three became a neighbor to the man attacked by robbers?”
37 “The one who treated him kindly,” the religion scholar responded.
Jesus said, “Go and do the same.”
~Luke 10
Neighbor = Others