Jesus, told a parable about a man who responded to the needs of a person who was in trouble. We typically call this man “the good samaritan.” This spiritual illustration (parable) shows us how to take faith-action so as to help people who need our help. They give us an opportunity to reach beyond ourselves and care for the people around us (our neighbors):

Luke 10:30 (NIV) In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. It was easy to see that this man had a special need; not all the people around you will have needs that are that obvious. You will have to apply the James 1:19 principle: My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry (NIV). This means you will need to ASK Jesus to help you listen to what people say. Many times people will give us little clues as to what their personal needs are. But, even when they do let little pieces of information slip out from time to time, you will need to pursue the clue. However, if the people around you are pretty secretive about their personal problems, needs, and struggles, you still need to see if they will open up.

Luke 10:31 (NIV) A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. This was a man who was supposed to be a professional need-responder. He was supposed to be a trained and skilled person who loved his neighbor as himself; but, he probably already had a full schedule. Jesus said that these people typically only helped those who had a lot of money and those who could give back those special favors they gave them. They concentrated on their friends, business associates, and colleagues. If it was a needy person who couldn’t give back, they passed by on the other side.

Luke 10:32 (NIV) So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. This is a person who works in the temple; he helps people deal with their sins, failures, and bad deeds. If anyone should know how to do the right thing, it should be him; but, he didn’t want to get involved. He didn’t have the love and compassion to help a person who was dying. He could see that the man was in bad shape. He could see that this wasn’t someone trying to take advantage of the system. Instead of taking faith-action and going and helping, he too passed by on the other side.

Luke 10:33 (NIV) But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. This is a man who was considered by the priest and the Levite to be the scum of the earth. They saw a Samaritan to be the most unspiritual, ungodly person around. They considered themselves to be the closest to God and the things of God. But, what they didn’t understand about God was, He considered what they did or didn’t do for the wounded man to be what they did or didn’t do for Him. It is how we treat people that matters to God. The main reason God gave you a perfect record was so you could be trained, transformed, and empowered to demonstrate your love for Him by helping hurting people. The closer you get to God, the greater your love will grow for people. And, the greater your love grows for people, the more you will take faith-action to help them with their problems.

Luke 10:34 (NIV) He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. In the previous verse the Bible says that, “when he saw him, he took pity on him.” You can feel sorry for people and not do anything about it; faith-action is seeing a need and addressing it. Faith-action takes time, effort, and often money. It is the moment when you interupt your life and do something that may be time consuming. It is where you allow yourself to feel the pain, struggle, and difficulties of those around you and then allow Jesus to empower you to take faith-action and help them.

Luke 10:35 (NIV) The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’ It is easy for us to feel like we have done enough; we feel like other people should pick up where we left off. But, often faith-action requires us to go the extra mile. It is good to get other people involved in helping people; but, it is important that we not just dump this issue in their lap and withdraw. Others may not have the same feelings and compassion that you do; they may need you to help keep them moving forward in getting the job done. The good Samaritan continued to lead the way in seeing to it that this damaged and abused man was taken care of.

Luke 10:36 (NIV) “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The other two may have really felt sorry for the man; they may have thanked God that, that didn’t happen to them. They typically felt like these things only happen to those who deserve it. They may have decided that if the man had been more careful, he wouldn’t have had it happen to him. There are a lot of reasons that may come into your mind that help justify you not taking faith-action. You are too busy; you have a schedule to meet; you don’t have the resources needed; you feel that maybe someone else is better suited; and you have a lot of other excuses for not taking faith-action and getting involved. But, Jesus said that the good Samaritan was the one who loved his neighbor as himself.

Luke 10:37 (NIV) The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.” It’s not like you can’t see the needs of the people around you; it’s not like you can’t figure out what you SHOULD be doing; it is a matter of using your two tool sets and getting Jesus’ training and power to do what you know you should do. Faith-action is the main reason you use all the other parts of your two tool sets. If you don’t get the things of the Bible flowing in and through your life, then Christianity will be just a theoretical religion. All the promises and blessings of God will remain on the pages of the Bible. All you are able to do is “window shop.” You just get to read about all the wonderful things of God happening to those people during Bible times. Luke 6:38 (NIV) Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Faith-action gets the blessings of God flowing into your life as you get involved in other people’s lives.