INTRODUCTION
And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.”
Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.” (Luke 10:37)
In an age where people are looking to take advantage of our good nature, where does the Christian stand as a good Samaritan? It can sometimes be hard to decipher where to show charity in the world in which we live. However, this does not stop us from needing to be the best Christians that we can be. The world is trying to dictate the Christian’s good nature. The world is trying to make the righteousness and goodness of a Christian lifestyle seem evil. Today, most Christians fear to do good because of ridicule and mockery shown towards their good nature. Through all this, we must be like Christ and show mercy, kindness, love, and Christ’s example to the world.
We can sometimes get lost in the white noise that the world throws at us, letting the noise of the world filter our Christianity. We become afraid to do good works toward mankind. We become afraid to tell people about Christ and His church. We become afraid to tell people about sin and darkness, and to lead people to the light. We must always be courageous and never doubt that Christ wants His charity to be shown through us, His People.
THE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION
And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” (Luke 10:25)
It’s interesting to think that the one who is asking Jesus questions about the law is a lawyer. A lawyer, in this context, is a scribe who spent his time copying the law of Moses and becoming an expert at it. This makes us think about our biblical knowledge. Are the ones who are asking the questions about life and how to live it the ones who have all the knowledge? Are the ones with the knowledge looking for loopholes in Spiritual matters? Here in this context, they are speaking to Jesus this way to set Him up and frame Him. They want to get Him to answer wrong in an attempt to expose Him as a false teacher.
Today when we do our good deeds, some claim to have biblical knowledge and/or the answers to discredit our Christianity and charity. We should be ready to answer for the faith that we have. “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;” (1 Peter 3:15). We should also be ready to rightly divide the Word and give righteous answers to people who would question our sincerity towards humanity. “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).
As Christians, we know what it means to be saved and we know what to do to inherit eternal life. Others will come and test our knowledge and our understanding of the scriptures. We must never find ourselves lacking, not ready to answer those who would question our faith. Rather, we must be ready to teach the Gospel of Christ to everyone who asks. Granted, some will come in a sarcastic manner, testing us to destroy our faith or show our folly. We must be ready for all challengers of our faith, giving Christ’s teachings from the Holy Scriptures as our answer always. When we do it this way, we give light to a dark world and enlighten those who would try to hinder the cause of Christ.