Welcome to another day the Lord has made that we should rejoice and be glad in. (Psalms 118:24)

Today let’s close out the week looking at doing our part to leave people better than before we came across their path.

Today’s scripture, Luke 10:30‭-‬37 (NLT), is about a good Samaritan…
Jesus replied with a story: “A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road. “By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. A Temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side. “Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’ “Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked. The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.” Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”

Consider…
I taught my children two lessons I learned from my mother:

• Blessed to be a blessing
• See a need, fill a need

Growing up, I vividly remember witnessing my mother:

• Give strangers standing on bus stops rides to their destination.
• (As a beautician), Pick up her clients, bring them to her shop and do their hair, then take them back home when she finished (at no extra charge), no matter their age or race.
• Uber her friends who didn’t drive wherever they were going, whenever they needed.
• Invite people from church over for Sunday dinners.
• Lead Bible study for the Dorcas Mission circle.
• Lead Bible study for young couples, who were new to our church.

As I reflect on the numerous good deeds of my mom, I realize I had a back seat (literally) view of Galatians 6:10 (NLT), which says…
Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith.

In today’s scripture, Jesus told the story of the Good Samaritan, to illustrate who one’s neighbor is. Let’s recap the highlights of this famous parable…

• A priest walked by a fellow Jew in need.
• A temple worker walked by a fellow Jew in need.
• But the despised (by Jews) Samaritan had compassion and helped this Jew. Actually the Samaritan did more than help, he made sure this Jew was made completely better than how he found him.

Reading this story causes other scriptures to swirl in my head. Passages like…

• Matthew 5:43‭-‬45 (NLT), where Jesus said “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.” Do you?
• And James 2:14‭-‬17 (NLT), which admonishes…What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless. – Does your faith produce good deeds by you?

You see quoting scripture, wearing a cross or carrying a Bible doesn’t demonstrate we are Christ-like disciples. In fact Jesus expressly said…
Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” – John 13:35 NLT

My interpretation of Jesus’ statement, is that one another means everyone, especially our brothers and sisters in Christ (based on Galatians 6:10).

Just now the Holy Spirit clarified why certain scriptural passages emphasize us loving fellow children of God. It’s because we can’t effectively function for God, who is Love, if we’re living dysfunctionally by hating our spiritual siblings. God mandates that we love one another to inspire others to join the family. But think about it, who wants to join a dysfunctional family?

Returning to our original theme, there’s a saying that we’re the hands and feet of Jesus, which means we’re the one’s God expects to extend His love and grace to others.

Lastly, the Holy Spirit showed me that…

• We can’t be Christ-like without Christ.
• And We can’t extend God’s love if we don’t have it.

Then the Holy Spirit reminded me that love is a fruit that he produces in us. As a matter of fact, He said the way leave others better than we found them is by giving them our Spirit produced fruit (Galatians 5:22-23):

• Love
• Joy
• Peace
• Patience
• Kindness
• Goodness
• Faithfulness
• Gentleness
• Self-control

As I read Galatians 5:22 again, I noticed something I missed before. It says ‘produces this kind’ of fruit. That means…

• Since fruit is produced af it’s own kind, the Spirit is actually producing God’s spiritual nature in us.
• The fruit listed are examples, not the exhaustive list of spiritual attributes we should have and display.
• Produces is an active verb, meaning our spiritual nature is continually being transformed into Christ’s image.

With that revelation, the Holy Spirit ran me to verse 25, which says…
Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. – Galatians 5:25 NLT

So if you truly want to be like Christ, let the Spirit lead you in everything you do. If you do, when you see a helpless man, you’ll lend a helping hand.

Like Christ, it should be our goal to leave others better than we found them. 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾

Be the blessing, God blessed you to be! 💝

Today’s song is…
Lend A Hand

Blessings 4HG (1 Corinthians 10:31)