#132 Parables for Everyday Living Part III (06/06/04)

Message by: Robert A. Schuller

Today we are going to look at one of the most familiar parables in the New Testament, the Parable of the Good Samaritan. Many people don't realize that when Jesus shared this parable it was in response to a lawyer who is trying to trap Jesus in a conversation. This gentleman comes to Jesus and he tries to trick Him by asking the question, "Teacher, how can I inherit eternal life?" Jesus, realizing that in His heart the man isn’t really serious, says, "What does the law tell you?"

The gentleman then answers saying, "We are to love the Lord our God with all our heart, and love our neighbor as ourselves." Then the gentleman asks a very interesting question, "But Teacher, who is my neighbor?" With this question, Jesus begins to share the Parable of the Good Samaritan.

Before we begin with the parable, let me put this story into current day perspective of a Good Samaritan helping the man who is on the side of the road. Imagine yourself in the Middle East today with our perception we have received from the media and our understanding of the Palestinian /Jewish relationships. Imagine Jesus using the term; "A Palestinian gentleman stumbles across a man who had been beaten and robbed and left for dead, recognizes him as Hasidic Jew. He picks him up, bandages his wounds, and then transports him to a hospital and, further, pays for all of the expenses to help this person to become well."

This context gives us a new perspective, doesn't it? The parable that Jesus tells is not of an individual who sees somebody beaten and left for dead who is in their same social class, or even their same race. It is not of an individual who witnesses somebody who looks healthy and good to them. But it is just the opposite. The Good Samaritan and the beaten man are of two completely different cultures and social classes. They are two people who normally wouldn't have anything to do with each other. Yet despite the differences, the Samaritan comes and cares for this person. That’s the definition of "our neighbor."

When I look at this parable of Jesus, and His definition of who my neighbor is, and then I look at the Old Testament law that says in order to inherit the kingdom of God, we must love our neighbor as ourselves ... I have a confession to make ... I have failed. I have not helped every "neighbor" that I have seen. I have not gone out of my way to help people who repulse me. I have not done what Jesus has commanded me to do. I have not succeeded in helping the lowliest. I have not visited all the prisoners in jail. I haven't fed everyone who is hungry. I haven’t given drink to all who are thirsty. I haven't done half the things that I should have done in my life. I have failed.
As a result, the only way that I’m ever going to see the beauty of the kingdom of God and eternal life is because I have received a gift from Christ. We all have received this gift ... a gift that we do not deserve ... a gift we have not earned ... a gift that has been bestowed upon all of us because Jesus Christ loves us.

The beautiful thing about this message of the Good Samaritan is that Jesus is the Good Samaritan. He is the only Good Samaritan there is, who will reach out to the lowliest of the low, to the most despised of humanity and will do whatever it takes to bring healing and health and wholeness into that life.

A second point to remember as we look at this parable is the reminder that Christ gives to us ... that as long as we are on this earth, our task will never be finished. We need to realize that no matter what we do it is never enough, that no matter how much we do; there will always be someone else who needs help. The troubles of this life never take a vacation; they will always pay a visit upon some neighbor in our society. As a result, we are reminded by Christ in this parable to do something. This is the second message within the Parable of the Good Samaritan.

I'm thinking of a gentleman who was honored recently. Some time back I was in Scottsdale Arizona, and happened to be invited to an Arizona Diamondback's baseball game. That night, at the beginning of baseball game, there was a moment of silence. The moment of silence was for a man who had discovered this second jewel, called do something, in this parable of the Good Samaritan. Each of us has been called by God to live our lives with purpose and meaning. God gives to each of us something that we are to do with our lives. As long as we fulfill that calling, we will succeed in life. The moment of silence at that baseball game was for a United States Army Ranger, Pat Tillman, who had been killed in the hills of Afghanistan that very day. He was from Arizona. He was a graduate of ASU, with a 3.86 grade point average. Not only did he graduate Cum Laude, but he was a star football player. In fact, the NFL football team, the Arizona Cardinals, had recently given him a contract for $3.8 million.

When the tragedy of 9-11 hit our nation, Pat Tillman decided that he had a higher calling than football and the dollars the game would bring him. In the weeks that followed 9-11, Pat Tillman made the decision to serve his nation. He joined the Army, became a Ranger, went to Afghanistan, and when I was in Arizona, that morning they made the announcement that he had been shot and killed. We later found out that he had been killed leading a small group of four soldiers to rescue twelve who were under direct attack. Every one of the twelve was rescued, Pat Tillman was the only casualty.

That day in Arizona, everybody was talking about this wonderful man who gave his life for his fellow soldiers, all because he followed his calling, and that is what God calls us to do. If God calls us to go into the Army, we go into the Army. If He calls us to go into the football leagues, we go into the football leagues. If He calls us to sell insurance, we sell insurance. If He calls us to be a mother or father, we become that mother or that father. This parable of the Good Samaritan calls us to follow God's calling for our lives.

There is always someone who needs our help and our calling, by God, is to help people. Not just the people we are drawn to, or we are connected to, but everybody. As we open up to God's calling for us, He will draw us to our neighbors. He will place the people in our lives that need help. Our calling is to lift up our fellow man even tough the task may seem impossible.

There is an old story about a gentleman who heard God calling to him, he heard God say; "You are to go and to push the rock." As the sun rose, the man went out and with all of his might he pushed this rock, all day long. When night fell, he went to bed exhaust and the next day he got up again began to push the rock. The next day he went and he pushed the rock and he pushed and he pushed and he pushed. The following day, again, he pushed the rock, and the following day he pushed the rock. This went on for several years until he heard the voice of Satan. Satan said to the man, "You are pushing that rock, yet how far have you actually moved it?"

The man responds by saying, "I haven't moved it at all. I have not even budged it."

Satan quickly says, "Do you believe that this is what God is calling you to do? You are not succeeding at all. You are a failure."

Suddenly he was discouraged. In that moment he suddenly saw himself as a complete failure for he had pushed the rock for years and he had accomplished nothing. The rock had never moved.
In his distress he went to God in prayer and said, "Lord, You've told me to push the rock and I've pushed the rock and I’ve pushed the rock, but I have failed. I am a failure. I have not succeeded at all."

God responded by saying, "I never told you to move the rock. I told you to push the rock and in your pushing look at your shoulders. They are not weak and thin like they were years ago when you started. Look at your back, and your arms, and your legs. Look at the person you are today. You are not the same person that I originally called to push that rock. You are stronger now. You have more faith. You may not be able to move the rock, but I can."

Ladies and gentlemen, our calling is to do the work that God has called us to do. The task may seem enormous, and the need so grand that it will feel like we are pushing against a solid rock that does not move. Yet the promise God is that He will strengthen us for the task and enables us to fulfill our calling. Remember the purpose may not be to move the rock, but to develop you into the person that God wants you to be. In pushing the rock we will grow and realize that with God, we can do all things.

The Good Samaritan. What did he get out of the deal? Well, he was late for his appointment in Jerusalem. He gave the innkeeper all of his money. He took his own garments and used them to dress the man. So it cost him a lot. What does he get out of it? He gets the satisfaction of knowing that he did what God called him to do. He fulfilled God’s purpose for his life. There is nothing that we can do which is more important than that.

Jesus implores us to feed the hungry, to give water to the thirsty, to visit those who are in prison, to comfort the sick. The rock is pretty big, yet the calling is very basic. We must do something.
Ladies and gentlemen, do something for your fellow man today. Not to earn our way into heaven, nor for eternal life, which is our gift from God, but do something to express our thanks to God for all that He has done for us.

Dear Heavenly Father, we thank You that You are a good God, You are a gracious God. You are a loving God. You have called us for a purpose and for a reason. So touch our minds, touch our souls, give us the vision, the clarity of insight that we might perceive the calling that You have for our lives. We thank You, Lord, for everything. Amen.