Sunday, December 14, 2008

Words of Encouragement for Every New Day ~ 15 Dec 2008

Words of Encouragement for Every New Day ~ 15 Dec 2008

There is power in sacrifice

Luke 10:30-37 In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of 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, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins 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."

Self-centeredness. It is human nature to first care about your own personal needs before others. Selfish people can be smelt a mile away. Selfless people can also be smelt a mile away. Today’s Words of Encouragement are about sacrificing your needs to bless others.

The world would definitely be a different place if more people could be like the Samaritan. Today, there may be a person in your office, in your life who is struggling. Instead of thinking selfishly, we must be like the Samaritan. Most of us would not help our colleague, because of self-centeredness. Thoughts like these run through our head, “Let the person suffer so that I can have better pay, my job is more secure, he/she treated me so badly before why should I help.”

In Jesus’ story even the priest couldn’t be bothered to help the struggling and beaten man. So what, about the titles, the wealth, and influence if we can’t even show care towards our enemies and those struggling.

God knows our heart, what is yours like?

© 2008 Shaun Lee. www.everynation.org.sg

archive: www.shauntzen.blogspot.com

No comments: