“Which one of these three was a neighbor?”
“Which one of these three was a neighbor?”
Randy Greene
Randy Greene is a part of the Communications team at the Church of the Resurrection. He helps develop and maintain the church's family of websites. He is also a graduate of Central Baptist Theological Seminary and loves to write stories about faithfulness.
For me, the hardest part of asking for help is admitting to myself that I need it. I want to believe that I can do anything I set my mind to do – that the sky is the limit, and the only thing that could stop me would be if I were to not try hard enough.
In the story of today's reading, the Jewish man was beaten and left for dead on the side of the road, and I wonder if he hesitated when he saw the Samaritan coming.
"Do I really want this man's help?" he may have asked. "This man, this Samaritan, the sworn enemy of God? I'm bruised, but I'm not hurt that badly. Someone else will come along who will help. God will provide for me."
It's a silly thought, right? But I'm pretty sure I do the same thing all the time. I may not be physically hurt the same way this Jewish man was, but there are plenty of times when I've been hurt emotionally, mentally, or spiritually and have resisted reaching out for help. I've felt overwhelmed, but put on a brave face so no one would know, so they would walk on by, smiling and waving at me as I covered my pain.
For me, it's not easy asking for help. To do it, I have to let my pride down. But maybe that pride is actually keeping me from experiencing the closeness of relationship the way Jesus wanted me to. Maybe when I take a posture of humility, of inviting others in to see my weaknesses, I am able to truly know my neighbors. Maybe I cannot love the people around me unless I am willing to be vulnerable and honest with them.
This sounds hard. This doesn't sound safe.
But it does sound a lot like Christ, doesn't it?
Comments
Post a Comment