Be a Good Samaritan

"But when a Samaritan on a journey came upon him, he looked at him and had compassion." Luke 10:33 BSB

Last year Sarah Story and Maggie Duba, both cross-county runners, were complete strangers. But all that changed when Sarah fell just short of the finish line at their state meet. “I got to the finish line,” she says. “And I collapse. I didn’t know what was going on. I just didn’t feel good and my legs just kind of gave out.” She says she was stuck that way for a while until a complete stranger, another runner, stopped to help. “Maggie came along and picked me up and got me across the finish line so I could at least finish the race,” says Storey. “She just kind of encouraged me, said, ‘come on, you can do it, we’re almost there’ and just kind of helped me get up and get across the line.” Fast forward a year to the state meet last weekend and Storey says she came into it with confidence. Both Maggie Duba and Sarah Storey finished with All State Honors this year. And not only did the duo from different schools finish with honors, they finished as friends.

And you know, when it comes to unlikely ways in which to gain a friend, the Bible tells us the story of the Good Samaritan who, while on a journey, came upon a stranger who had been robbed, stripped of clothing, beaten, and left half-dead on the side of the road. This poor man was in need of help and yet both a priest and a Levite, the two people that you would have expected to stop and help, passed by on the other side. But not the Samaritan. Although he knew he was hated by the Jews, the Samaritan "looked at him and had compassion." So much so that he bandaged the man's wounds, took him to an inn to recover, and paid all the man's expenses. Was that the most amazing example of love that you could ever witness? 

So knowing that love has the power to turn enemies into friends and to lead the lost to the foot of the Cross, may we strive to follow the example of the Good Samaritan each and every day. May we look upon those in need with compassion and help them in the identical way Jesus would, extending the same love and mercy that we ourselves would want to receive. 

Heavenly Father, thank You for the reminder that we have an obligation to help those in need. Help us to have compassion and mercy on those You put into our path so that we might not miss an opportunity to be Your hands and feet and in doing so lead them to accept You as their Savior. It's in your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen. 

Happy Running!!!