The Good Samaritan
by Kyle Debertin
The
newness of school is starting to wear off and you’re probably getting pretty
comfortable in your school surroundings. But, there is that “someone”
that is beginning to get on your nerves. It's possibly a roommate, or a
classmate, or maybe even a life-long friend. A good friend once had this
little exercise for me:
Think
of someone you despise. Someone who you maybe even hate. Maybe it’s a group of
people that are just rotten or seem to only think of themselves. It could be
someone famous or someone you know personally.
Got that person in mind? Great—now read Luke 10:30-35, only replace
“Samaritan” with the person or group of people in your mind. (Go
ahead. Read it. Here’s a link to that scripture - www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2010:30-35)
Usually when I read this story, I picture myself as the Samaritan, doing the
right thing when nobody else will and being selfless to help save someone’s
life.
But then I heard the story a different way. In Jesus’ day, Samaritans were the
lowest of the low. People despised them, and the reason Jesus used a Samaritan
in this story could be that, of all the people who could have helped the hurt
person, it was the one nobody expected to care.
Sometimes we write people off because of how they act and who we think they are.
We become certain of how they will act and often don’t give them the chance to
be any different than that.
I hope we can remember that Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection is for ALL of
us. Just as we get a fresh start through Christ, we should give others a fresh
start so that all people can live in the resurrection of a new day.
Hope you have a chance to visit your local Lutheran Campus Ministry sometime
this week!
ND Lutheran Campus Ministry