A Life Of Love
A group of kidnappers drug a man from Jerusalem who was traveling to Jericho to a roadside, stripped him of all his clothing, beat him, and abandoned him, leaving him to die. There were two men who passed by the hurt man that held important church and culture roles, neither of which stopped to help the dying man. The first man was a priest. He considered himself too good to lend a hand to the injured man. So, instead of stopping to offer his assistance, the priest crossed the road to walk on the opposite side. Soon after the priest disappeared, a Levite walked past the half dead man and tried not to notice his poor and helpless condition. In attempts to ignore the beaten man, the Levite kept walking without contemplating to help him. Then, an enemy to the man's culture, a Samaritan, saw the beat man lying there waiting to die. He went out of his way to lend a hand to the stranger. The Samaritan carried the man on his donkey to a nearby inn. There, he bandaged his wounds and took care of him throughout the night. Before the Samaritan continued on his journey the next morning, he gave the innkeeper enough money (two silver coins) for the man's stay. He did not stop helping the beat man at that point; the Samaritan also told the innkeeper that when he passed through again, he would repay the innkeeper for any other expenses the wounded man would have. The story of the Good Samaritan is an excellent example of how we should live our lives. God desires us to live a life of love.
Jesus commanded us to love one another as he has loved us. God's desire for us is to become more like Him, which means we need to grow spiritually. When we grow closer to God, love is evident to others through us. God states that the greatest command is this, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, love your neighbor as yourself" (Luke 10:27; NIV). Since God is perfect, His people need to strive to be...
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