March 2022 - Daily Faith Walk

Hope in Romans 5

By Galen Harrill / March 30, 2022 March 30, 2022

Our Bibles have a lot to say about suffering and character development, but Paul ups the ante by connecting the whole thing to hope in Romans 5. I’m not sure we understand hope very well anyway (I’ve certainly heard plenty of confusing lessons on the subject); but tying hope to suffering fairly makes the mind spin. Let’s break it down.

Romans 5:2 talks about rejoicing in the hope of the glory of God. This isn’t too difficult – as He is glorious, we too will be glorious as He intended at our creation as we one day stand in His glorious presence. In the meantime, however, we are trudging rather ingloriously through a tough world that lacerates glory. And I think this is where we get off track because too often the word “hope” sounds like a hollow howl in the wind whistling of some far-off place we can only get to through death, which, frankly, scares us. Someday we will be transformed – in the twinkling of an eye. But that day! When? To the God who looks at a day as a thousand years and a thousand years like a day… wow. If only we could have some foretaste of it now.

But that’s really where Romans 5:1-11 is going if we read it carefully. You see, what’s happening is we are justified with God through Jesus by faith. In other words, this is something we have already. Not feeling it? Hold on – because we have something else too. We have God pouring His love into us by the Holy Spirit – and this is one side of that foretaste. It resonates with us because it’s exactly the kind of love we long for, need, and know is true deep in our God-imaged selves.

Yet the world will do its worst. It’ll throw everything it can at us, ridicule us, rage at us, ignore us, you name it. And this is suffering. But suffering through it is the kind of exercise that produces perseverance – just like suffering through some physical workout can get you that physical endurance. But the whole time I’m living by the Spirit, pumping the love the Spirit is pouring into my heart. And I come out of it a better person – a person of character. And this is the other side of hope – because as I look at the person I am becoming, as I am developing a character that looks more and more like God’s character, as I am testing the strength to live as He wants and finding it true, I can see the glorious creature God is making me into! So, this hope is no longer hollow – it is filled with rock-solid evidence of the power of God working in our lives – the power to transform, the power to resurrect, the power to never disappoint, the power to save….

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Biblical Peace in a Time of War

By Galen Harrill / March 24, 2022 March 30, 2022

Peace. This is where the rubber meets the road. Even as I write, the city of Mariupol, Ukraine has been wiped off the map at the hands of a twisted world leader who doesn’t seem afraid to enter World War III. Every other conflict up to this point in my memory seems like a skirmish by comparison. But even skirmishes are deadly to those who are in them, and something is always up – which leads us to a reality I think some of us would rather deny – we are never going to have world peace. There will always be injustice and unrighteousness in the world, selfishness, envy, and jealousy – and these things lead to conflict. However, in this very horrifying current situation, we must understand some things very clearly because we run the risk of widening a rift between our faith on the one hand and what we consider the day to day living of our lives on the other – something James might call “double minded.” (James 1:8)

To be honest, we are always in danger of “spiritualizing” our walk with Christ, forgetting He walked this earth with us in very physical form – but this rift becomes much more evident and even dangerously intentional when we’ve seen the world go crazy like it has this past month and we scramble for answers to questions we usually just ignore. So here it is – when we pray for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven it’s because it is not done on earth. And it will not be done on earth until everyone submits to the Lordship of Jesus. How far are we from that point? You know as well as I that just affirming Jesus as the way and the only way often leads to violent verbal rebuttal as we are labeled spiritual bigots. This affirmation of the exclusivity of Christ is scary to the unsaved world and I’m afraid way too often we shirk our responsibility to the lost because we don’t want to frighten anyone or arouse ire.

But it is equally true in times of great upheaval and war, when the world draws up actual physical battle lines and evil shows its true face, that the spiritual battle lines become sharp and we see our call to action clearly. Not just any action, however. Not as equal instruments of violence, not as instruments of coercion. But rather as instruments of peace as we hold on to the word of life (Philippians 2:16). We must understand this like crystal – our struggle is not against flesh and blood (Ephesians 6:10-18). It’s against Satan. And Satan’s power has been on full display this month.

We usually understand something about these difficulties is in our own lives – Jesus never promises His people a lack of conflict. As long as we are in the world, we will experience it. While it is not anywhere in His desire, He recognizes the conflict He brings to His people as He redraws the battle lines and snatches us from Satan’s clutches. Jesus clarifies this conflict most sharply in Matthew 10:34 when He states He does not bring peace, but a sword. Our own family can become caustically opposed to us as we move from darkness to light. Paul makes clear in Romans 12:18 that as far as it is up to us, we are to live in peace with everyone, but this demonstrates we are only one side of an equation. If someone chooses not to live in peace with us because of our faith or for whatever other reason, that is not on us. Peter acknowledges we may suffer for doing good (I Peter 3:14), but states that even so, we are blessed.

If all this war-like and conflict imagery seems counter to the fruit of peace in Galatians 5:22, let’s get down to it. We, as children of God, are uniquely and exclusively qualified to create peace. But we need a firm grip on the concept. The peace Jesus gives us is of a far different quality than anything the world has to offer as He affirms in John 14:27. It surpasses understanding as Paul states in Philippians 4:7. But that doesn’t mean we can’t grasp it. Let’s grasp it.

First, when we talk of peace, the Biblical peace we see in the New Testament, we see it is tied directly to the reality of salvation found in Jesus. When Jesus was born, listen to what the angels said in Luke 2:14 – “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests.” This is not simply a parallel to, but rather the substance of salvation – peace! It is the power behind Jesus’ words in John 14:27 as He contrasts what He offers in comparison to the world. Peter affirms peace as salvation to Cornelius in Acts 10:36. Even the warlike imagery of Ephesians 6:15 has Christians rushing into spiritual battle not to commit bloodshed, but rather fitted in readiness with the gospel of peace!

But this peace also is reconciliation. This is first and foremost reconciliation to God as we see in Romans 5. Through Jesus Christ we have peace with God as verse one clearly states. Verse ten states we are no longer enemies with God because of Jesus’ death. Whole swaths of the book of Hebrews speak of this reconciliation we have because of Christ (chapters 9 and 10 for example), but this passage in Romans nails down the concept tightly – the peace made in Jesus is reconciliation with the Father.

This reconciliation is also between people – but this is important to note, it is only between people who chose Jesus as the peace between them. Ephesians 2:14 affirms Jesus is our peace. Is. Through Him, and only through Him do we have peace! We don’t come to one another and try to hash out peace. We cannot come to each other in our own strength and find peace. We cannot hope to make peace. We can only come to Jesus – and He is our peace!

So we come to this fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22. And we come to a world devoid of peace. And we ask how they relate. For ourselves, knowing where our salvation lies, we have no reason to fear anything. The peace we have in Christ is sure, and even if the worst happens to us, we know we stand saved from all trouble as Romans 8:35-39 affirms. This certainly doesn’t mean we won’t have trouble, but as Jesus also said the same night He was betrayed, “I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). As we are transformed by the Spirit, we come to realize this more and more as we grow in Christ, and it does, in fact, surpass understanding; to much of the world it seems totally insane. And that’s the thing – we are also in this world – and this peace, this salvation, this bold assurance, this fruit of the Spirit, is made to be shared. As the events of this past month have shown, the need to share is urgent and this closes the gap between our faith and our walk in this crazy, messed-up world. The world, as the world, will continue to rattle sabers and make war – but many in the world, because of us, will come to peace. “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation….” Isaiah 52:7

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Five Steps to Knowing the Bible

By Galen Harrill / March 23, 2022 March 23, 2022

A few years ago, a preacher friend of mine asked the provocative question, “If you were stranded on a deserted isle and had no Bible, would you know enough scripture to sustain you?” A bit embarrassing, but I thought about Gilligan before recalling to mind Robinson Crusoe’s 28-year exile – except Crusoe doesn’t quite fit. He had a Bible. But what if he hadn’t? And what if I didn’t? I don’t ever plan to be very far from a Bible, and I can’t imagine finding myself totally cut off from civilization – but do we not often find ourselves in situations that are much like a deserted island in the middle of a sea of unbelief, ill-equipped to spiritually navigate our way clear? Surely, we think, scripture has some word of wisdom or escape here, but we can’t recall what it is – and so a perfect opportunity to put faith into practice is lost.

It was at my friend’s prompting I decided I needed to do some serious spiritual restructuring of my brain. I needed to ensure I had appropriate hooks to hang my faith on so I could make the most of every opportunity as Paul encourages us to do in Ephesians 5:16. Believe me, I still have a long way to go. Paul’s words to the Philippians ring true in my life – “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect….” But I have made some conscious decisions to build some spiritual muscle. These are some of the things that have helped.

First don’t get overwhelmed by the task. The Bible is a big book and sometimes, when it’s sitting there, you can think, “I’m never going to know that like I want to.” You are right about that. None of us will. But growing is important. In I Peter 2:2-3, Peter says, “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.” When we start out this way it’s a good start. We will eventually grow to handle a more substantial diet.

Second, and related to the first, read your Bible and mark up passages that get you to think. When you go through again, you’ll see those marks and it will prompt you to think more deeply about what you are reading the second, third… one hundredth time you read it again. I can’t tell you how many times I see some little note I made in the margin of my Bible, sometimes 20 years ago, and it spurs me to some completely new understanding I hadn’t thought of before.

Third, as you are reading along, try to remember the content of what is in the various books of the Bible. Lots of Bibles have subheadings that aren’t original, but they can be helpful. Where can I find the Sermon on the Mount? Well, that’ll be Matthew 5-7. Peter talks to Cornelius in Acts 10. The letters to the seven churches? Revelation 2 and 3. You can also memorize how many chapters are in various books. John has 21 chapters. Isaiah, 66. And if you find yourself saying, “Oh, I think Genesis has about 50 chapters but don’t quote me on that,” or “I think Gideon is in Judges 5 or 6,” that’s okay too. You’re getting a feel for things. Memorizing the books of the Bible in order is also helpful.

Fourth, memorize passages of scripture. Don’t get caught up in memorizing something long or hard if you don’t have it in you to do so. And if something just isn’t sticking, go ahead and work on something else. That’s okay. For me, it’s a lot like running. Sometimes, like in the summer when the days are long and I have more time, I can work on longer runs. When it’s winter and the days are short and I’ve got a lot going on, I don’t run as far. Sometimes I can tackle the hills, sometimes I’ve got to choose the track. Life also has its seasons, and we will need to adjust. Just have something to work on you can handle.

Finally, if you get off-track and find you’ve missed a few days, don’t beat yourself up. Just get back to it. Slightly out of context, but again, Paul can help here – “One thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” – Philippians 3:13…

…maybe I’m about ready to get on a boat….

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How to Love Like Jesus

By Galen Harrill / March 17, 2022 March 23, 2022

While reading through Philippians the other day I came across a phrase Paul used when speaking about how he felt toward the brothers and sisters there. He said he longed for them with the affection of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:8). Affection is kind of a weird word and it made me wonder – Paul must be talking about the love of Christ, right? Why not just say that? I figured if I explored a little bit, this might have something to say about how to love like Jesus. So, I did a little digging.

I wasn’t quite ready for the intensity. The concept was a box I hadn’t really touched since high school some thirty-plus years ago. At the time, my wrestling with the terms had more to do with navigating my personal relationships and being an adolescent….

You see, I wrote lots of letters to lots of friends from Christian summer camp. That’s right, actual paper, envelopes, and stamps. Anyway, I judged “sincerely” as a completely uncool way to end a letter. So, with guys I could write, “Love you man,” and that was all understood – they were your bros or whatever we call them these days. “Love you girl,” besides being condescending, could lead to all sorts of misunderstanding so…. “Love in Christ.” That put a little distance there while still reaching out. That was safe….

Except it’s not. And if we haven’t thought about this since high school, perhaps it’s high time we did since this is what Jesus expects of us in our relationships with our brothers and sisters. Because it gets real deep, real quick. Cross. Think cross. “Demonstrating His own love for us in this – while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Do we get it? I’m not sure – because this “affection” word is still out there and it’s still a little pastel for me.

The true color – are we ready for it? “I long for all of you in the guts of Christ.” Yeah. That’s it. That’s how Paul put it, that’s what the Philippians heard. Visceral. The word “love” is not used. We find that elsewhere. But this surely communicates something about the depth of feeling Paul had. It isn’t safe. It doesn’t stand at a distance from Christ and observe His children standing around the cross from the outside. Rather, it crawls inside and becomes one with Him as we are transformed into His likeness, longing for relationship. A gutsy love. Imagine what our churches will look like when we get it….

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A Plague of Frogs and God’s Power in His People

By Galen Harrill / March 14, 2022 March 17, 2022

What six-year-old boy doesn’t like frogs? I kept an eagle eye out for any frog-like hopping from my grandpa’s lap as he drove the old Sears lawn tractor over the yard in Michigan. We’d stop at every movement, and I’d jump down and scoop up leopard frogs, rescuing them from the mower blades and placing them safely in a box to keep as pets for the day. Win-win! I’d dream of frogs – boxes full of the slippery jumpy creatures, all mine! So, like every little boy I knew in Sunday school, I had a hard time making sense of the words “plague” and “frog” placed so close together in Exodus 7. “What would you do if you could catch as many frogs as you wanted?” we’d ask each other. “I’d keep them in a box!” we’d all answer. Naturally. Six-year-old boys.

But a plague it was – and a significant one as it was the last sign Moses performed the magicians of Egypt could reproduce by their “secret arts.” And it got me thinking – what am I supposed to think about this? Consider this – God tells Moses to go to Egypt and perform some signs to prove God is with him. He goes, and everything he shows the Egyptians they can copy. Snakes from walking sticks? Got it. Water to blood? Ew, gross, but okay, done. Frogs? This is getting weirder, but hey, the six-year-olds like it… and then the gnats. The magicians are done. Can’t do it. They tell Pharoah, “This is the finger of God!”

And this is what I came up with – the world can imitate God’s ways for a while. But then it can’t. Let’s take it out of the plagues. That was just the catalyst for this train of thought. Let’s put it into something much more palatable to those of us who are not six-year-old boys – say, love. Jesus sends us out like a Moses into a captive world and tells us to love one another. It’s the sign that Jesus is our Lord and that we are His disciples (John 13:35). Jesus says everyone will see it. Everyone will know it. It’s got God’s prints all over it!

You see, the power behind the staff to the snake, the water to blood, the frogs – it was all God. The magicians see his fingers – later they will see His mighty hand and outstretched arm! It was unmistakable, finally even to Pharoah! But when God’s love is poured out into our hearts by the power of the Spirit (Romans 5:5); or when His incomprehensible peace guards our hearts and minds (Philippians 4:7); or when we are filled with indescribable joy (I Peter 1:8) – it is something the world can only dimly sketch. It can never duplicate, and it finally has to admit this is God’s doing – and it has the power to free us all!

Wisdom and God’s No-Judgement Policy

By Galen Harrill / March 12, 2022 March 12, 2022

From James 1:5 – If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault….

The Joy of the Lord is my Strength

By Galen Harrill / March 11, 2022 March 11, 2022

I love that opening chapter in “The Hobbit” where Bilbo Baggins says, “Good morning” to Gandalf. Gandalf asks some probing questions – “What do you mean? Do you wish me a good morning, or mean that it is a good morning whether I want it or not; or that you feel good this morning; or that it is a morning to be good on?”

Now I admit – I love a play on words. Most of the time I understand them as such. But sometimes….

I have always wrestled with what, exactly, Nehemiah means when he declares, “The joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10). Does he mean the joy you feel in God is your strength? Or that God has placed joy within you and that is your strength? Or maybe it’s actually the Lord’s own joy that is supposed to be your strength… hmmm….

This is where you get down to context. God’s people had spent seventy years in exile because of their sins, something that broke God’s heart – but He had to do it if He was ever going to have a relationship with them again. The people returned – scared, small, and unsure of themselves. Nehemiah returns and marshals them to action, and they rebuild the city wall around Jerusalem. Then they all get together and listen to the words of the law. All the commands, all the blessings, all the curses. It’s too raw for them! They know what exile feels like, they were there! They know the stories their mothers and fathers and aunts and uncles all told about the war. The famine. The dying. The humiliation. They know it was their own fault, and as they are listening to Ezra read the law, they break down in tears, chained to the past.

Oh… but God. You see, God is not having any of that today! He’s been waiting these seventy years too – anguished at their suffering and their humiliation. Seventy lonely years. But now they are back! And His joy is unbridled! Nehemiah calls them to this joy!

“People! You’ve got to understand! God has wanted this from the beginning of this terrible exile thing! He has longed for you and waited for this day! There is no reason to be sad or fearful, this is not the day to cry over your past sins! That’s the past, this is now – this is the welcome home party He’s been planning for 70 years! No crying here. Let His joy strengthen you to remove your insecurities and doubt!”

And yet… how about us? Do we get Luke 15:7 and 10 and that whole “more rejoicing in Heaven” talk Jesus gave? God is crazy about us! We come broken and beat up from all our own self-abuse. Let’s get this straight – we’ve run ourselves through the mill. And yet. When we turn to God. When we finally turn to him. Ashamed and scared like the prodigal in Luke 15:19-20. God runs to us – unable to keep His joy in check, looking us over with our ripped clothes, black eyes, mud-streaked faces, and bloody knuckles and falling over Himself with happiness at the prize He has in us! That’s what Nehemiah is talking about – there is nothing in this world as fortifying as knowing you’ve made someone happy – and if that happens to be God – with all the joy of eternity focused on you – how great is that strength?

The Aroma of Christ

By Galen Harrill / March 9, 2022 March 9, 2022

For years after leaving Abilene, Texas, I could still hear the wind blowing in my ears. It always blew and must have carved out pathological canyons in the corners of my mind where such experiences are stored. Sometimes, it blew from the south. When it did, it brought the unmistakable smell of the Gooch meat packing plant with it, which lurks in another part of my mind. I haven’t stepped foot in Texas since 1993 – but as I write this, I smell Gooch. Fortunately, my olfactory library houses more than stinky meat packing plants and I can also call to mind Grandma’s house, the New Jersey Pine Barrens, and the educational wing of the church I grew up in.

We know the sense of smell binds powerfully to our memories, carrying us immediately to different times and places. God counted on this when He commissioned Moses to make an anointing oil for the tabernacle and His high priests. No one else was to make this for any other use. So, when you went to the tabernacle, you were smelling something unique. You didn’t get this anywhere else. It was only and always at the temple – unless….

Imagine. You’re walking back to your house from… I don’t know, your vineyard, fields, the market – you’re just walking. Your mind is thinking about something you’ve got to do or something someone said or maybe you’re just taking a mental vacation just soaking up the scenery. All of the sudden, you’re at the temple. You know how you got there, your rode on a whiff of “that smell.” You are in the very presence of the God who called your nation into community and are struck with the need to thank and praise Him this second! But where in the world did that smell come from??? You go home and your spouse says, “Did you hear the news? The high priest was here today.” “Ah!” you think. “That’s it! I must have passed him by without knowing!”

Question – how do you smell? Don’t get too self-conscious… you see, as the church, the whole church, we are God’s royal priesthood (I Peter 2:9). Now get this straight – this carries weight with it, responsibility – because God’s people are supposed to smell like Christ. We are His aroma to the saved and the lost (II Corinthians 2:15) as He leads us in this world. How are we doing? As we walk around in our daily rounds, do people smell something different? Does our attitude stink, or is it the same as that of Christ Jesus (Philippians 2:5)?

I get it, I really get it. Way too well I get it – staying sweet smelling in this world is difficult. I remember how on our way back from church on Sundays dad would stop at this convenience store to pick up the Sunday paper. This was before places were smoke-free and there was an open deli with salamis, pickle-loaf, and sliced onions for made-to-order hoagies. Dad was only there for about the one minute it took to pick up the paper and pay for it, but when he returned to the car, he was what we termed “O-dif-er-ous!” That’s our world and we live in it. But we’re not condemned to smell like it. And we won’t when we spend more time with Jesus, clothed in Him!

….by the way – you cannot imagine the temptation I faced to make some very tenuous connection to rejoicing in the Lord always as a safeguard for us in Philippians 3:1 and the fact that Safeguard is a brand of deodorant soap! But I’ll leave that to you….

Fruit of the Spirit – Love – Galatians 5:22

By Galen Harrill / March 8, 2022 March 8, 2022

Fruit of the Spirit – Love – Galatians 5:22-23

Concepts of love

Eros – Romantic – we should talk about this in the church, there is a healthy, Biblical view of this.
Philia – Friends, “brothers” (Philadelphia – for those in the NE)
Storge – Family
Agape – Unconditional, altruistic
Bible’s use of particularly philia and agape is much more nuanced and blurred. Need a more organic approach, and if we think about it, we know this is true.

Clearing our focus

Luke 6:27-31 – these actions lead us to a change in attitude – we begin to care as we show love.
Let’s not distill a version of this love into something sterile.
The act must work its way to the heart
It’s not a fruit otherwise – Galatians 2:22
Let’s look at it from this angle – 1 Corinthians 13 – it’s not love if there isn’t compassion, depth.

Spirit lead

Does not allow for self-justification – Luke 10:25-37 – point – everyone is our neighbor, everyone is our responsibility
It must communicate something to the world, the world can understand – even with its imperfect understanding of love, what we are doing should resonate deeply with the lost – John 13:35
Must come deep from within – 1 Peter 1:22
The world can imitate for a while, but the veneer wears thin over the long haul if not from the Spirit.

The Good Samaritan

By Galen Harrill / March 4, 2022 March 4, 2022

Oh boy. Self-justification. That’ll get you into trouble every time. So, we’re at one of the most famous stories in all the Bible, the one about the Good Samaritan. Now let’s be clear – that’s just a heading in our Bibles. It’s nowhere in the actual text. Jesus doesn’t call this Samaritan good. To be clearer, if He had, those around Him would have protested loudly. “There’s no such thing as a good Samaritan!” This was a matter of deeply entrenched prejudice dating back centuries. Jewish society in itself had “us-es ” and “thems” as Luke makes plain – but throw a Samaritan in the mix and all Jewish society becomes an “us”. Not that all this uproar would worry Jesus at all as He is about to demonstrate.

You see, an expert in the law comes to Jesus and asks Him what he has to do to inherit eternal life. This will not be the last time someone asks Jesus this question and it’s a question we should all ask. But Jesus, instead of answering, makes him answer his own question. To his credit, the Lawyer holds nothing back – “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 Love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 22:40 says everything in the Law and the Prophets hang on these. That’s a lot of weight. Brave man. Maybe.

“You have answered correctly. Do this and you will live,” Jesus replies. And this is where it gets hard because knowing something or even suspecting something is right is only part of the battle. The other part is putting it into practice. And part of us might not want to put whatever that “it” is into practice at the level we suspect it demands. That’s this man’s problem. He had the answer. But he was still squirming because deep down he knows something isn’t right. So here comes the attempt at justification. “Uh, Jesus, follow-up question. Um, exactly who’s my neighbor?”

Ouch. Jesus, throughout Luke, is erasing boundaries left and right. He’s eating with sinners. He’s touching the sick. He’s raising up the humble. I don’t know how much this lawyer knew about all of that, but if he thought he was going to get a pass on this question, he was wrong.

Jesus tells the story we all know so well. A good Jewish man falls into the hands of highway robbers. They take his clothes, beat him up, and leave him for dead on the side of the road. A priest and a Levite – good, upstanding, respectable members of Jewish society – see him and pass by. But then a Samaritan comes along….

You can already feel the tension. Two have already passed by. But surely Jesus isn’t about to make this Samaritan the hero of the story, is He? Well, yes. Actually yes. He is. This Samaritan outsider bandages the hapless man up, provides transportation to the nearest inn, and pays the innkeeper to watch out for the guy. Then he tells the innkeeper he will pay him more if necessary when he returns.

Scandalous! I can almost feel our lawyer wishing Jesus would just finish this unpalatable story and have done with it. But Jesus, having been asked for clarification, now puts the man on the spot to see if he’s been listening. “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

Note: The man takes the long way around to respond. There was a one-word answer. Let’s just say it together. It isn’t hard. “Samaritan.” Let’s try it again. “Sa-ma-ri-tan….”

…He couldn’t say it. Instead, he chose seven words. “The one who had mercy on him.” Driving the point home, Jesus tells him, “Go and do likewise.”

Now maybe we don’t catch it. We’ve grown up with charitable organizations with the word “Samaritan” in the title our whole lives. These are the good guys. But not here in Luke. This interaction was the most unlikely and extreme example Jesus could have given this man. The point is simple. Everyone is your responsibility; everyone is your neighbor. Loving them seeks no justification. Don’t look for it. You want eternal life? Leave justification out of it. Just do it. Luke 10:25-37