Daily Radio Bible - September 27th, 21

He's the neighbor we've all been waiting for.

Blessed are the eyes that see what you've seen. Many prophets and kings long to see what you see, but they didn't see it. And they longed to hear what you hear, but they didn't hear it.

That's what Jesus says to His disciples. So tell me, what do you see in this story of the Samaritan? Do you see yourself? a religious leader came and asked Jesus, he asked the question, he said, Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life? He asked the question because he wanted to justify himself, we're told. But Jesus responds with the story of the Samaritan. In this story, Jesus is asking us, who do you see? We like to see ourselves as the ones who are the heroes of the story, we are the ones who will show mercy, we will be the good Samaritans. Somehow, we've translated this Gospel story into some kind of morality tale, as if Jesus is showing us how we can be the hero of the story.  Avoid being a villain, like those religious people, and you now be the hero. That's not what the story is about. No, this is a Gospel story. This isn't a morality tale. Jesus wants us to see who we are in this story. But it's not who you think. We're not the hero. No, we're the man lying in the ditch. We are the wounded man. We are the man that's just holding on half alive, unable to help himself. And God as the Samaritan, God has shown mercy. When we were exposed, beaten up, left half dead along the road. God is the hero in this story. It's not us. He's telling the story to show us what God is like. God is the one who justifies us. God is the one who is the hero. The world and religion they pass by, they walk on by unwilling to help us as we lie there. But God sees us. Mary is sitting at his feet, and she's listening to every word of this story, and she gets it. Jesus is the neighbor that we've been waiting for. He's the only way that we will ever justify ourselves before God, not by the work of our own hands, or by by being the hero of our own story. by sitting at his feet, and seeing what he's done for us, that he's come and he's found us in the ditch, barely alive, in need of help. And he does for us what we can't do for ourselves. He's showing mercy and care for us. He's soothing our wounds with olive oil and wine. He's bandaging us. He's placing us on his own donkey and taking us to an inn where we can get rest and be cared for. And he continues to care for us. Even when we don't see him there. He's left resources behind to help us and restore us to life. So when you ask the question, How do I inherit eternal life? Who do you see as the hero of your story? Is it you? Or is it the Good Samaritan? Is it Jesus? Is it the one who has been a good neighbor? He is the hero of the story.

So let's rejoice today friends, that he found us there on the side of the road, wounded, in need of rescue. He found us and He is our hero.

And the prayer of my heart today is that I will see that each and every day. That I won't lose that plot, and somehow put myself in the place where I do not belong. And that's the prayer that I have for my soul. That's a prayer that I have for my family too for my wife and my daughters and my son. And that's a prayer that I have for you may be so

You are loved!