I heard a pastor once say that he wished the term, "full-time ministry" would be abandoned. His point was that we get so wrapped up in that title that we, as Christ-followers, give all the responsibility of the church over to those who get paid to do ministry.
On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?” He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’ “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.” Luke 10:25-37
Many of us have heard the parable of the Good Samaritan. It's a commonly preached story about how we should treat others. I love that Jesus doesn't give us straight answers. He speaks in parables giving us examples on how we should live; many of which are common sense. As with all Scripture, these verses are jam packed. Let's start by looking at the men who passed by the hurting man.
A priest and a Levite passed by a man who was obviously suffering. These are men of the church at the time. The Levite man was most likely assisting the priest. We don't know why they didn't stop. Maybe they were overwhelmed with other church business they needed to attend to. Maybe they had another emergency. Maybe they were just too exhausted to help one more person that day. We don't know. All we do know, is that church leaders, people who were full-time ministry, did not stop to help.
The one who did stop to help was a Samaritan. Now, many assume the hurt man was a Jew. Jews and Samaritans did not cross paths. They avoided each other at all costs. So, the Samaritan's reaction should have been like that of the priest and the Levite. But, it wasn't. He stopped. Not only did he stop but he put the guy up in a really nice hotel and left his credit card in case of incidentals. And, he didn't stop there. He told the inn-keeper that he would be back to check on the man.
Y'all, this is full-time ministry. The Samaritan was not a church leader. He was not paid to serve. He was not required to help the man. If anything, it was a given that he cross to the other side of the street and pass the man by just because of the mere fact that there people groups despised each other. But, the Samaritan got it. He understood that ministry didn't just happen in the Temple. Ministry happens on the streets and in our communities. Our only job is to have our eyes open to opportunities to serve.
The hurt man in this story could very well be looked at as Jesus. Every time we stop our every day busy lives to serve another, we serve Jesus. Oftentimes, we are going to be put in uncomfortable situations when we are given an opportunity to serve. We will always be too busy and we will never have enough money but if we are willing, God will provide.
The Samaritan is you and me. We are called to move outside our boundaries to serve and love others. We cannot solely rely on those in full-time ministry to do it all. Our lives are richer and fuller when we give a little of ourselves to another. Full-time ministry does not just apply to those who get paid. We are all in full-time ministry. It's time to ask God to open our hearts and our eyes to the needs of those around us. Be the Samaritan today. You will not regret one second of it.
"All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it." 1 Corinthians 12:27
Love & Blessings,
Meg
On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?” He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’ “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.” Luke 10:25-37
Many of us have heard the parable of the Good Samaritan. It's a commonly preached story about how we should treat others. I love that Jesus doesn't give us straight answers. He speaks in parables giving us examples on how we should live; many of which are common sense. As with all Scripture, these verses are jam packed. Let's start by looking at the men who passed by the hurting man.
A priest and a Levite passed by a man who was obviously suffering. These are men of the church at the time. The Levite man was most likely assisting the priest. We don't know why they didn't stop. Maybe they were overwhelmed with other church business they needed to attend to. Maybe they had another emergency. Maybe they were just too exhausted to help one more person that day. We don't know. All we do know, is that church leaders, people who were full-time ministry, did not stop to help.
The one who did stop to help was a Samaritan. Now, many assume the hurt man was a Jew. Jews and Samaritans did not cross paths. They avoided each other at all costs. So, the Samaritan's reaction should have been like that of the priest and the Levite. But, it wasn't. He stopped. Not only did he stop but he put the guy up in a really nice hotel and left his credit card in case of incidentals. And, he didn't stop there. He told the inn-keeper that he would be back to check on the man.
Y'all, this is full-time ministry. The Samaritan was not a church leader. He was not paid to serve. He was not required to help the man. If anything, it was a given that he cross to the other side of the street and pass the man by just because of the mere fact that there people groups despised each other. But, the Samaritan got it. He understood that ministry didn't just happen in the Temple. Ministry happens on the streets and in our communities. Our only job is to have our eyes open to opportunities to serve.
The hurt man in this story could very well be looked at as Jesus. Every time we stop our every day busy lives to serve another, we serve Jesus. Oftentimes, we are going to be put in uncomfortable situations when we are given an opportunity to serve. We will always be too busy and we will never have enough money but if we are willing, God will provide.
The Samaritan is you and me. We are called to move outside our boundaries to serve and love others. We cannot solely rely on those in full-time ministry to do it all. Our lives are richer and fuller when we give a little of ourselves to another. Full-time ministry does not just apply to those who get paid. We are all in full-time ministry. It's time to ask God to open our hearts and our eyes to the needs of those around us. Be the Samaritan today. You will not regret one second of it.
"All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it." 1 Corinthians 12:27
Love & Blessings,
Meg
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