Go and do likewise

Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.’” Luke 10:36,37 ESV

In an article titled, "Runner who went into anaphylactic shock eager to find Good Samaritans who saved him" posted on Sunday, CBC reported the following: An Edmonton man who went into anaphylactic shock during an evening run through the city's river valley is searching for the strangers who helped save him. David Poretti credits a couple of fellow Edmontonians with saving his life when he suffered a severe allergic reaction that left him gasping for breath and fading in and out of consciousness. He hopes the Good Samaritans come forward so he can thank them. "I was so unlucky that day in the fact that I went without a phone and I didn't really have an EpiPen," Poretti said, adding that his luck changed when he encountered the bystanders. Poretti, 47, was a few minutes into a run through MacKinnon Ravine near his home in central Edmonton on Monday evening when he started to feel sick." He began to worry. He started to walk to the trailhead near the Victoria Oval, feeling increasingly disoriented. That's when a string of Good Samaritans entered the picture. A bicyclist stopped and allowed David to use his phone to dial 911 and a woman walking by who just happened to have an EpiPen in her car administered an injection to halt his allergic reaction. David later said, "There's no chance I would have been able to make it without help from bystanders."

And you know, when it comes to being people who are kind and compassionate enough to help a stranger like these bystanders did, Jesus gave us the parable of the Good Samaritan which illustrates who our neighbors are and what it means to love them the way we’re supposed to. The parable is a story of three men who encountered a man who had been beaten, robbed, and left for dead on the side of the road leading to Jericho. Neither the priest nor the Levite stopped to help although they were the very people who claimed to love God yet ignored the need of a hurting soul. But the Samaritan had compassion on the man and not only tended to his wounds but brought him to an inn and took care of him. “The one who showed him mercy,” then was the one who proved to be a neighbor.

So as Jesus commanded, let us follow the example of the Good Samaritan by doing “likewise” to our neighbors who are all those in need. Let us love them as ourselves and show them the kindness and compassion Jesus would. By our mercy may we be proven to be good neighbors rather than just bystanders.

Heavenly Father, thank You for reminding us that we show our love for You by the way we love and treat others. Help us to love them like You do Lord so that we would go and do likewise at every opportunity. It’s in your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen.

Happy Running!!!