Will You Help?

I’ve been preparing to teach a class called “Becoming a Good Samaritan” so I’ve been wrestling with Jesus’ story in Luke 10. Not just in understanding the parable but also in understanding its practical applications in our world today. To help with that, I’ve been reading Richard Stearns book, “The Hole in Our Gospel.” It’s a wonderful book dealing with the needs that our so prevalent in world today and how Richard responded to God’s calling to play a role in meeting some of those needs.

Stearns makes the point that the problems to be found in the world have never been greater than they are today. At the same time, our capacity to solve our problems has never been greater.

That capacity is formed in 3 things:

1. Awareness—to join in helping those in need, you must first be aware of the need. Through modern technology, we have never had greater awareness of those in need (whether they be across town or across the globe) than today.
2. Access—because of air travel, we now can be anywhere in the world within 24 hours. We have access to those in need.
3. Ability—we have medicines that can treat most health issues, the ability to develop safe drinking water, the ability to maximize crop yields, greater sociological understanding of poverty…there is so much we have the ability to do.

In Mark 2, four men brought their paralyzed friend to Jesus because they believed that Jesus could help. Jesus had compassion on them, healed the man and forgave his sins. Today the world brings its lame, sick, and dying to us believing that somehow we can help.

Will we have compassion on them?