I believe Jesus was the Rob Reiner or M. Night Shyamalan of his day. The stories he told were so vivid and moving. I think often times we blow right by them without considering the emotion in which they were told.
Go back and read in Luke 10 the story of the Good Samaritan. I parked out in that story recently and let it begin to soak in. I love it. The beauty of the story is that the most likely becomes the least interested and the least likely becomes the most involved. You’ve got a Priest, a levite and a Samaritan. Or you could say, a Pastor, Associate Pastor, and a Deacon (no offense Deacons). What I love about the story is that the least likely candidate to offer help to someone in need turns out to be the one who rises to the occasion.
I love this story for several reasons. The first is that you don’t have to have any training, seminary, or education to be used by God. Just a side note, but studies show that 80% of seminary graduates drop out of the ministry within the first 5 years.
The second is that it is not just enough to see an opportunity, you have to seize the opportunity. All three saw the beat up guy. The Priest walked to the opposite side of the road. The levite looked and left. But the Samaritan approached and engaged.
The third is that sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is to get off your…DONKEY. Let me repeat myself. GET OFF YOUR DONKEY! The samaritan got off his donkey, bandaged the wounds, and gave of his own money to care for the man.
Jesus wraps up story time with a simple phrase, “Go and do the same.” I love it.
Moral of the story…it’s amazing what you can do, or better yet what God can do through you if you are willing to get off your…DONKEY (oops, I almost slipped that time). Dismount!