Defining God’s Radical Love for All in Jesus’ Story of “The Good Samaritan!”

Jesus’ parable of “The Good Samaritan” (Luke 10:25-37) was one of Jesus’ most radical stories of God’s love for all. You hear stories of “Good Samaritan’s” often on the news. As wonderful as those stories are, most, if not all of them, come nowhere near Jesus’ intent in His story of defining one’s neighbor.

 Briefly, when Jesus said the Priest and Levite (the professional church leaders) passed by and did not help the man beaten and left half dead, everyone in the crowd that day knew he was going to say an Israelite (a normal churchgoer) would be the one to stop and help. They talk the talk; we, walk the walk!

When Jesus said a “Samaritan” stopped and helped, there would have been a huge gasp from that crowd. Samaritans to them meant their worst enemy. If Jesus was telling this story to us, it would be like the Grand Dragon of the KKK, in full garb, running into a fire to save an African American. Or, He would have said someone like Osama bin Laden, President Putin, or whoever else you believe to be the most despicable person ever, even those people can do good.

As difficult as it is to believe, that’s how radical God’s love is; always has been; always will be. To prove God’s radical love for the world, for all people, simply look at Jesus’ Cross, hear His words of forgiving everyone, including us, for murdering Him; then, see God’s vindication at the Empty Tomb.

What if, as we learn more about God’s radical love for all, we allowed God to equip and empower us to live God’s love for all our neighbors. What could our lives, what could our world, look like?

If you would like to know more about God’s radical love in this story, please leave me a comment.