Why We Care

Luke 10:33-34 ¶ 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.

What must I do to be saved? This is the question that Jesus was asked several times. In one instance, He was asked this by a lawyer. Jesus put the question back onto the lawyer who responded by saying that salvation was a matter of loving God and your neighbour. Jesus affirmed this answer. "Do this and you shall live." But then the lawyer seeking to justify himself asked the Christ who his neighbour was. This was the occasion that led Christ to tell the story of the Good Samaritan. The amazing thing about this response is that Jesus focussed more on the evidence, or, fruit, of those who were saved. In the instance of the Good Samaritan, the fruit of the Good Samaritan was his care for others. But this was the kind of care that was completely unreasonable! The Good Samaritan cared for others outside of his world.

As a church, I hope that we are known for two things. Firstly, that we love God with all our minds and exercise our intellectual faculties to do so. Secondly, that we care, and that we care for those outside of our world- people that could never pay us back, or join our church, or tell our friends what we have done for them. This is why we care about those in our Valley, even if they never come to our church. This is why we care about legislation that our State Government proposes, even though it may never affect us directly. This is why we send out people on short-term missions trips to help in foreign countries, this is why we send out preaching and ministry teams to other churches (around 16 churches so far this year).

Romans 12:2 Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

I hope that we can love and care for people just like the Good Samaritan did.