When God Says …
“But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour? And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.” (Luke 10:29-30 KJV).
These passages, focus on redirecting from demand-oriented religious work of the law to supply-oriented relationship by grace in Christ Jesus. In this continuing interaction between the Lord and the Jewish religious expert of the law, knowing the lawyer's motive, the Lord Jesus introduces a parable in response to the man's justifying query “who is my neighbor?” The story is about a man traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho. This is a path that goes through the Samaritan area. The commandment the religious lawyer quoted was about loving God and neighbor. The man in the story stumbled among thieves and was beaten.
This parable of a man who may be a Jew, beaten, stripped of his garment and left wounded on the road, was prompted by the lawyers query centered on the religious idea of loving one’s neighbor by the religious demands to work hard by the law. The traveling man in the story is metaphorically you and I and every person in this journey of living. In our journey in this treacherous world, it is vey likely for us to encounter sin and miss the law that could beat and leave us wounded on the road.
This should alert and forewarn us that we need security and protection to shield us in our journey. We need grace and we need the cover of God’s grace being His children in Christ Jesus by faith. In Him, we have no fear against thieves. God is our shield, as Scriptures assure us with God's oath to Abraham. It is written: “After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.”” (Genesis 15:1 ESV).
And I say, AMEN!
Daily reflections by:
F. A. Frias
PFC Ministries
When God says... I say, AMEN! is a provocative reflection of the Lord's holy Word. It intends to challenge every seeker of truth to dig deep into the core of the Word of Life to point every being to Christ Jesus - the author and finisher of our faith, and to draw revelations for change, for nourishment and for strength of every soul.
Partners For Christ Ministries, INC
P. O. Box 773716
Ocala, FL 34477
Touching lives in Cambodia, The Philippines, The Middle East, The USA, and... other countries.
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