The good Samaritan helped a battered traveler that both a priest and a Levite had left for dead. He had to overcome many large difficulties to accomplish this task: there was a prominent tension in the fact that he was a Samaritan and the traveler was a Jew, and as Luke writes, "He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him" (Lk. 10:34 NKJV). In the next verse he spent his own money to pay the innkeeper to take care of him. We must remember that these were complete strangers, but the good Samaritan overcame all presuppositions and prejudices about how he was supposed to act and did one of those small hard things.
Likewise, when the Samaritan leper in Luke 17 "Saw that he was healed, [he] returned, and with a loud voice glorified God" (Lk. 17:15 NKJV). He knew that it was because of Jesus that he had been cured, so he ran back excitedly to praise Him. Surely Jesus must have continued on His way and the former leper had to search extensively, ask around, and certainly go out of His way to come back to Jesus and praise Him.
Teens are not downtrodden and shunned in the same sense that the Samaritans were, but still little is expected of them. It's easy to only do easy things, but when we put out all of our efforts to seek God, praise Him, and live according to His law, we experience true blessings. Whether we receive accolades for our efforts or not, it is ultimately our obedience that matters. We do not come to the Fount for the blessing, but instead that our hearts may sing His praise.
Come Thou Fount of Every BlessingRead More
Come thou fount of every blessing
Tune my heart to sing thy grace
Streams of mercy never ceasing
Call for songs of loudest praise
Teach me some melodious sonnet
Sung by flaming tongues above
I'll praise the mount I'm fixed upon it
Mount of thy redeeming love
Here I raise my Ebenezer
Hither by thy help I come
And I hope by thy good pleasure
Safely to arrive at home
Jesus sought me when a stranger
Wondering from the fold of God
He, to rescue me from danger
Interposed His precious blood
O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I'm constrained to be!
Let thy goodness like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to thee
Prone to wander Lord I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love
Here's my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for thy courts above.
1 comment:
I still am not sure what an Ebeneezer is, maybe one of these day's I'll look it up. Good post anyways, something I continually need to work on
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