Jesus desires you to be a Good Samaritan. Find the injured, pour oil on their wounds, bandage up their injuries, and provide for any additional medical expenses.
But that’s difficult. We often don’t have the time, or money, or patience to be a Good Samaritan to every injured person we find lying in the ditch. That’s why we pray our Hymn of the Day for this Sunday: “Lord of All Nations, Grant Me Grace.”
Verse one: Lord of all nations, grant me grace to love all people, ev’ry race; and in each person help me view my kindred, loved, redeemed by you.
Though there are many reasons the devil, our culture, and our minds can dream up to separate us from one another, we realize the Lord has created every nation from Adam. “From one man, he made every nation of mankind to live over the entire face of the earth” (Acts 17:26). There may be much that separates, but the blood of Adam flows through our veins and the blood of the second Adam – Jesus – covers and redeems us.
We are not to let physical appearances, wealth, popularity, skin color, or anything else divide us. There is only one race – the human race. It should never be controversial to say that all lives matter – the unborn, the elderly, those with lots of melanin and those with little melanin. Jesus came to save all of humanity, not a select few. “The Lord has made his salvation known. He has revealed his righteousness to the eyes of the nations” (Psalm 98:2).
Verse two: Break down the wall that would divide your children, Lord, on ev’ry side. My neighbors’ good let me pursue; bind them to me and all to you.
We often build walls to separate, fences to divide, and barriers to isolate. We pray that God would tear down these walls and build bridges. Sin magnifies our division. But in Christ that sin is forgiven and removed. Now our unity can be magnified. We pray for God’s help in the pursuit of helping our neighbors’ good. “This is how we know that we love the children of God: when we love God and keep his commands” (1 John 5:2).
Verse three: Forgive me, Lord, where I have erred by loveless act and thoughtless word. Make me to see the wrong I do will hurt my neighbor, Lord, and you.
We beg for mercy when we have been like the priest or the Levite passing by on the other side, appearing as if we don’t notice the need. We confess that we have sinned in “thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone.” We plead for forgiveness for our sins of omission where we have left the love of our neighbors undone. We have erred by not performing acts of love or by saying a helpful word.
Verse four: Give me your courage, Lord, to speak whenever strong oppress the weak; and should I be a victim, too, help me forgive, rememb’ring you.
Too often we seek revenge, flee from conflict, remain silent in the corner, or curl up in the fetal position. We pray for the courage to be advocates speaking for those who cannot speak for themselves, defending those who are defenseless, standing up for those who are weak, bringing about a victory for the victims. We seek justice for those who have been harmed. We bind up the wounds of the brokenhearted. We bring peace and unity in all we say and do. We allow the fruit of the Spirit to blossom in our words and actions: “the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22, 23)
Verse five: With your own love may I be filled and by your Holy Spirit willed, that all I touch, whate’er I do, may be divinely touched by you.
We were once half-dead, lying by the side of the road. Jesus is the Good Samaritan who comes in our misery and mess to save us. He got down into the ditch with his incarnation to rescue us. He binds up our wounds with the divine blood that flowed from his wounds on the cross. He cures our suffering by taking that suffering upon himself.
As we look to Jesus as our Good Samaritan, we can then be Good Samaritans to those around us. We love others as Jesus has loved us. We share the Holy Spirit who dwells within us. We touch others with the healing touch Jesus has placed on us. We are to be the lights in this dark world, shining the glory of Christ in all we think, say, and do. We are the means God can use to tear down the walls that divide, forgive as we have been forgiven, and love as we have been loved first.
To do this, we pray and sing, “Lord of all nations, grant me grace.”