But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion.
— Luke 10:33
By Jim Jackson
It is pretty easy to get so busy in our daily life that we are sort of blinded to what God might be wanting to accomplish in the lives of others, with our assistance.
Jesus told a parable that clearly illustrates the danger of getting so busy that we miss out on what God is wanting to do: In Luke chapter 10, verse 30, Jesus’ parable of The Good Samaritan begins.
Here is my paraphrased version: A certain Jewish man was on his way to Jericho when he was brutally attacked by thieves and left to die by the road. First a Levite, and then a priest, passed by.
These were religious leaders; surely they would show compassion to a wounded person! But it seems that they had places to go and appointments to keep, so they passed him by. Surely someone else would come along who had more time to help this wounded man.
Then a Samaritan man, despised by the Jews, came along. Of all people, this man had reason to look the other way, since the wounded man was a Jew — and Jews were normally considered an enemy of the Samaritans. But, wherever this Samaritan man was going this day, it could wait, because someone needed his help.
The Bible says he had compassion on this man.
It’s easy to become so busy that we are unconscious when it comes to the needs of those around us. Our schedule can become so full of accomplishing good things that we are of no help to the people around us.
The truth is, God is at work in the lives of our friends, our co-workers, our neighbors and our family members. And God may ask us to interrupt our day long enough to join
Him as He ministers to them, through us. There is nothing on our agenda for the day, no matter how pressing it may seem to be, that would be reason enough to ignore the voice of God when He tells us to have compassion and stop and help someone.
If we have become too busy to minister to those around us, we need to ask God to help us to sort out our priorities, so that we do not miss the opportunities that he gives us to serve Him.
Dear Lord, may we never find ourselves too busy to be used by you.
Jim Jackson is pastor of Shirley Friends Church. This weekly column is written by local clergy members.
