"I just got out of the hospital.  I was in a speed-reading accident.  I hit a bookmark."  Steven Wright

For all of you Good Samaritan bookworms out there...here are five Good Samaritan book recommendations!

Mother Teresa once said, "We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean.  But if that drop was not in the ocean, I think the ocean would be less because of that missing drop."  

Based on these words, answer the following four questions:

1. What do you believe you have to offer this world?
2. What brings you the greatest joy?
3. What is it that you just can't stand to see take place in the world?
4. What might God be trying to convey to you about where he wants you to start> becoming a Good Samaritan?

Pray to have impact; pray to be impacted.  Pray the people whom you will meet and serve in the near future.  Ask God not only how you might impact their lives, but also what you might learn from them.

World Vision International President Dean Hirsch says that despite the size of the issues facing the world today, whenever he has chosen to reach out and serve someone in need, even in a seemingly insignificant way, he remembers the words of Mother Teresa: "Remember, God did not call you to be successful; he called you to be faithful."

 (The following exercise is found on page 23 of the 

“Disciples of Jesus are those who refuse boundaries for the identification of neighbor and instead love even their enemies.” Klyne Snodgrass, professor of New Testament Studies at North Park Theological Seminary

At the heart of the parable of the Good Samaritan are two important questions:

Who is my neighbor?

What should a neighbor do?

The answers Jesus gives are straightforward:

Who is my neighbor?  EVERYONE

What should a neighbor do?  EVERYTHING

Yet our response is often:

NOT YOU and NOT MUCH

Especially when it is someone we don’t like.  The person who cuts us off while driving.  The co-worker who gossips about us behind our backs.  The neighbor who won’t cut their lawn.  Fill in the blank…

Most certain when it is someone we consider an ENEMY.  Names and faces so personal we keep them to ourselves. A private list of enemies we cannot mention without burning with anger.

Yet the call of Jesus is still the same.  EVERYONE and EVERYTHING.

And so I would like to issue “The ENEMY Challenge.”

In order to participate, all you have to do is take a few moments and respond to the following three questions:

1. Who is my enemy?
2. Do I believe that the call of Jesus in my life is to love that person?
3. What am I going to do about it?

BIG IDEA:

If you want to live like a Good Samaritan you may need to slow down.

Yesterday I left work in a hurry.  Jen and I are trying to buy a house, and we are busy as heck.  You get it.  My guess is you are just as busy.

As I was leaving my office building, headphones in my ear as I talked to Jen on my phone; I noticed an older gentleman struggling to walk down the steps to the parking lot.

My response was common.  I quickly interrupted Jen and told her I’d call her back, and then offered my arm to the gentleman so that he could make it safely down the steps.

We all do that.  We get the door.  We help people in obvious ways. 

We have degrees in common courtesy.

What about uncommon courtesy?

And that’s what bugs me…about myself.

I can see the common things, and I feel great about helping people like that gentleman in common ways. 

But I don’t feel like I even pick up on opportunities to show uncommon courtesy.

Several years ago my Grandfather fell in his garage.  He busted his hip, and lay on the floor of his garage screaming for help for several hours.  Eventually someone heard his faint cries for help and rescued him.

My fear is that my life is moving at such a pace that I wouldn’t even hear someone like my Grandfather screaming for help.

And that is why I propose a Good Samaritan slow down.

Let’s slow down and pay attention.

QUESTION:

What are some ways you could slow down and find ways to be a Good Samaritan at home, at work, in your neighborhood, and when you are in public settings?