Daily Devotional for Wednesday, February 18

The Occasion of the Good Samaritan

“But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?” Luke 10:29.

Years ago, a pastor had a parishioner with a drinking problem. Of course, this bothered the pastor. So, one Sunday he decided he would preach on the topics of drinking and drunkenness, and he would let the Holy Spirit convict the man. That Sunday, attendance was poor, and the pastor got excited, because he was confident the man would know that the sermon was directed to him. Well, after the service, the man approached the pastor in the foyer, vigorously shook his hand, and said, “Boy, preacher, you really preached to them, today, huh?”

            Seeing that the man did not receive the point of the message, the pastor preached the same message for several weeks hoping the man would finally get the point. The final week that he preached the sermon the man with the drinking problem was the only person in attendance because of much sickness among the congregation. The pastor thought for sure he would get the point on this occasion. The man came up to the pastor after the service and with a big smile and said, “Boy, preacher, you really preached a humdinger today, and you would have been preaching right to them, if they would have been here!”

            The Scriptures for today identified a lawyer (an expert in the Jewish Mosaic and rabbinical law) who tested Jesus. The lawyer knew what the Law said about loving God and loving your neighbor but he did not know who his neighbor was.

            The lawyer trying to justify himself knew the right answer but he did not know the right application. Knowing the answer will not justify one if there are no works that demonstrate the proper application. James said, “Even so faith, if it hath no works, is dead, being alone” (James 2:17).

CHALLENGE

Do not justify doing wrong. Repent, and do what is right.

Chris Floyd