Sun Inspiration

Morning Inspiration with Pastor Merritt

You know the story of the good Samaritan, don’t you?

There is a reason why the victim in this story was not just beaten unconscious and robbed, but we are told specifically he was stripped naked. There was no way to identify the race or the ethnicity of this person. There was no way to tell whether he was Jewish or Gentile, because it didn’t matter who he was. You are a neighbor to all who are needy.

Being a neighbor has nothing to do with proximity, nationality, popularity, or ethnicity. It is all about not being greedy with people who are needy.

What was it that set the Samaritan apart from the priest and the Levite who passed the victim by? If you will notice, we are told in verse 31 of Luke 10 that the priest “saw him and passed by.” In verse 32 we are told the Levite “saw him and passed by.” In verse 33 we are told a Samaritan “saw him and had COMPASSION.” What made this Samaritan so special was not the color of his skin, but the compassion in his heart. No law will ever make you a good neighbor, but real love can’t keep you from being a good neighbor. Three men walked by a man that day. Two men saw a nuisance. One man saw a need. Our takeaway today is in a form of a poem that I have written. I don’t write many, but I wrote this one:

“A neighbor is not defined by color or creed; A neighbor is defined by nearest need.”