The Samaritan

       We often hear the news speak of "ethnic cleansing."  It has to do with one group in a country trying to get rid of another group.  That is the extreme end of having a bias against a certain group of people.  It can be cause by anything that is different from me.  This does include "you" but I chose to speak of my own life as an example.  We were born in a certain place and group of people and then our upbringing causes us to form certain opinions of others.  My Mother always assumed that anyone who lived in the southern part of our state was a "hillbilly."  That meant that they were crude and uneducated as far as she was concerned.  That, then transfers to me.  The issue can be caused by skin, education, speech or even political views.  Jesus Himself dealt with the issue in the following story, or parable.  Luke 10:33 says, "But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,"  
      The Jews and the Samaritans were at odds with each other.  Just read the account of the encounter between the Lord Jesus Christ and the Samaritan woman in John's fourth chapter.  The above verse is what we have named the story of the "Good Samaritan."   Jesus portrays various people bypassing the injured person.  We would say today that they don't want to be bothered or they don't want to get involved, or they just don't have the time to do it and surely someone will happen by and take care of this poor individual.  It may be true that you will make a certain risk in your life by helping a person.  The main point of the account, or at least one of the points is that there are times when we should get involved and that we may be the person whom God has sent to take care of the situation.  In the above case, the Samaritan was the one who provided the necessary help and he went above and beyond that which would be expected.  Here we go out into another way and there may be those times when you can either assist someone in either a small or great way or you can look the other way and ignore what you just saw.  In the story of the Good Samaritan, what person would you like to imitate?  Would it be the lawyer?  Would it be the religious Levite?  We probably all agree that we would like to be like the good Samaritan.  Praise God that He is in control of the world and not us.