Sunday morning, before tornados, before the insanity, before the destruction that is left to be restored, was a sermon. I posted about it in my blog on Sunday right before the tornados hit along with a link for those who wanted to hear the message I heard that spoke volumes to my heart. Back in Washington visiting family for a week I sat at church listening to my Dad preach a sermon out of Luke chapter 10 verses 1-24. God is at this very moment bringing me full circle and I wanted to share it with you.
The very next verse, verse 25 begins:
And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" He said to him, "What is written in the Law? How do you read it?" And 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 neighbor as yourself." And he said to him, "You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live." But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"
Jesus replied, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, 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, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, 'Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.' 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."
With all the wounded, weary, displaced, broken, robbed people of Joplin we are seeing people banding together, offering aid, extending help, pouring out love. What I find interesting about what Jesus is saying is the ones you would have expected to help in the story pass by, in fact they go out of their way to not help and pass to the opposite side of the street. But the Samaritan, who in that day and age were a despised people, he had compassion.
God loves it when we help each other. He loves it when we serve selflessly instead of selfishly.
Praising God for all the good Samaritans in Joplin.
xoxo
Ronda
As I mentioned in an earlier post here is where Kael went to daycare and would have been if the tornado hit on Saturday.
Pictures as seen on the web at: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1389737/Joplin-MO-tornado-At-89-dead-twister-cuts-4-mile-swathe-Missouri-town.html
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