"And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee" (Luke 10:34-35).
Going to our brother in his time of need makes us vulnerable.
The binding of a wound does not cure the problem. Binding up is more or less like adding a band-aid. It stops the bleeding and covers the wound so nothing more can get in. When we go to our brother or sister in the Lord who is wounded, it is not our job to side with them or to further infect the wound by talking about the problem that caused it. We often think that to help them, we must talk about the person who wounded them. That is deadly. We should turn them to the Lord and help them find comfort and peace before the actual problem is addressed. We must calm and defuse the situation, not further irritate it.
The oil was used to cover wounds after they were disinfected by the wine. If we do not use the Word and the Spirit together when giving care to our people, we are in danger of not only further hurting them, but losing them completely.
The Samaritan demonstrated sacrifice by giving up his own ride for the man in need. Sometimes, we are going to have to give up our own feelings and make sacrifices for the souls of others.
The inn represents the hospital of The Church of God. We are the soul-saving and soul-keeping station for a world of beaten up strangers and fallen brothers. Pointing our hurt brothers and sisters back to the Church is a must. When we are gone, the Inn will be what keeps and returns them to health. Only relying on the Samaritan wasn’t wise because he was on his way elsewhere. He was a minister at heart. He may not have been a priest or Levite, but he knew he was just passing through. It was important that the Samaritan take him to the place that others could offer help and build his health again.
"…And took care of him…." This indicates that the Samaritan likely helped with his care while in the inn that night. This is what real love is all about. He went the distance though he would not be able to stay with him himself. He trusted the care of the stranger to the innkeeper. Church, we must learn to trust one another. We are often very possessive of the people we win to the Lord or the brother we have known a long time, but we should put trust in the Innkeeper and the Innkeeper’s workers. Jesus is still head of The Church of God. He knows who to send to the sick and wounded brother’s side. Let Him do His work and trust His choices. Pay the price to leave him there. How do you pay the price? We aren’t talking about money. This price is paid in our faithfulness to Christ and His Church. What will this cost you? When it comes to keeping your brothers and sisters, it will cost you everything.
By Sister Allene Cox
General ABM Coordinator
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