I cherish my conversations with my son. Adulting normally gets in the way of quality bonding but we found a window open that day. I firmly believe that it is always good to take advantage of every opportunity to catch up,
I asked him what he did the day before and he shared a few of his activities. He shared a lot of things that he did as he’s been busy with ministry but what stuck with me was his story about the Good Samaritan. To refresh your memory, here’s the story from the Bible:
Luke 10:25-37
The Parable of the Good Samaritan
25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
27 He answered, “‘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 neighbour as yourself.’”
28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbour?”
30 In reply, Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead.
31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.
33 But a Samaritan, as he travelled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii 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.’
36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
My son said, when he heard this story again, what impacted him most was the fact that the Samaritan got off his donkey and placed the injured stranger on his seat so the donkey could carry this stranger to the inn to be restored.
Let me give you some context, my son also said that the inn symbolises Jesus, where the sick and the broken could go for restoration.
The stranger represents the lost, the people who do not believe in the Gospel of Jesus. If we turn our backs away from them, they’ll die a Spiritual death.
The Samaritan represents Christians. He has knowledge of the inn and knew what was required to save the stranger.
This Samaritan gave up his ride to the stranger. He should’ve been riding to where he was going but he gave up his seat so that this stranger could be healed. When they got to the inn, he also gave up money, paid two denarii, and promised to pay the innkeeper more so that the stranger would be taken care of. My son then said, “The question for us is ‘What would you be willing to sacrifice so that the lost can receive Jesus?’”
The question got me thinking. That challenge made me reconsider my purpose. Why do I do what I do? Why does God inspire me to write books? Why does God inspire me to write songs? Why did God allow me to create High3r.com?
Looking deep in my heart, I truly believe that the reason why God encouraged and empowered me to create High3r.com was for that very purpose: For the lost and the broken to get to know Jesus, and to encourage Christians to step up and share the Gospel to the ends of the earth. That’s why the website is called High3r.com because we need to step up and go higher so that people could find God’s freedom, love and immortality.
My takeaway from the conversation I had with my son was to go back to what I was called to do. I would reach out to the lost and encourage believers.
How about you? What would you sacrifice to reach the lost?
Thank you for reading this devotional story and I pray that it encouraged and inspired you in your walk with Christ. Please read other devotional stories on the website.
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