Roasted honey red stretch

Friday, August 21, 2009

Are You a Pharisee?


Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead.


I have heard this story from Luke 10 all my life. I always imagine that if i saw a car accident, or some poor victim lying in the sidewalk, of course, I would help them. But what if Jesus meant ANY situation like this?



As I was driving to work yesterday and pondering my relationship with a difficult co-worker, this parable came to mind. I realized that God was speaking to my heart. That He was saying that my petulant, and immature co-worker was the man in the story. No, he had not fallen in with robbers, or had he? The more I thought about it, the more i realized that God was opening my eyes for hte first time to show me that he had. That the poor the wretched and the lame are not always that obvious.


That my co-worker had fallen in with the worst robber of all! He had been robbed of his correct sexual identity, his dignity as a person, and a loving heart. Instead of disdaining him, I should not be the Pharisee and pass by on the other side of the road. But I should be the hero in Luke 10, the proverbial "Good Samaritan". My grumbling and shunning this person was making ME a Pharisee.



God forgive me, all my life I believed that I would be the "Good Samaritan" in this story, but instead I have been the hated Pharisee!


The Big Mac