Life’s full of twists and turns. Some pretty easy, others not so much. Some optional, others obligatory. Today we’ll look at one turn you don’t want to miss.
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I love the lesson Jesus teaches in the parable of the Good Samaritan. You may know the story. A legal expert challenges Jesus with a question. “What do I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus basically says “You’re the legal expert, what does the law say?” “Well,” the lawyer replies, “You shall
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 your neighbor as yourself.” That’s a good answer. Love God, love love your neighbor. So Jesus tells him, “Right. Now go do it!” (I’m paraphrasing a bit here, giving you the “Bishop Robert Version.”) Then the lawyer asks Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?” He’s looking for the loophole.
God loves to crush our stereotypes. We get far too comfortable thinking the way we always think. But there is a problem. Sometimes we’re wrong. So Jesus tells him a parable, and shows the lawyer his need to turn around.
A nice Jewish boy gets mugged. He’s beaten, robbed and tossed to the side of the road; left to die. Along comes a Jewish HOLY man, a priest. But the “holy” priest doesn’t care about the needs of this poor Jewish lad lying in the road bleeding. He saw him, but he didn’t care. In fact, he moved to the other side of the road as he walked by. Deliberately. Then along comes another Jewish HOLY man, this one a Levite. But he didn’t care either, and also moved to the other side of the road. Deliberately. Two people who were supposed to be ministers were phonies. They utterly failed.
Then comes the Samaritan. They were hated, distrusted and utterly avoided at all costs. Only evil was expected from the hand of a Samaritan. Except the HATED man acted like the HOLY men should have! He had a change of heart – he cared, and acted upon it. He turned aside and showed compassion.
Today’s verse says REPENT THEREFORE, AND TURN AGAIN THAT YOUR SINS MAY BE BLOTTED OUT
Many years ago the Byrds released a song called “Turn! Turn! Turn!” and it became an international hit. The lyrics were essentially taken verbatim from the Book of Ecclesiastes in the bible. “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven.” And then, continuing to quote Solomon, they sing through couplets of things for which there is a time. A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, a time to reap; and so on. The final verse of the song says, A time for love, a time for hate; A time for peace, I swear it’s not too late.”
The Byrds and the bible were spot on – there’s a time for EVERYTHING! There is a time to Turn! Turn! Turn!
If you’ve never made the decision to turn and follow Jesus, I want to ask you to consider it.
If you’re reading this, I swear it’s not too late.
