Are You Passing By On The Other Side?

Luk 10:30-36  And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.  (31)  And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.  (32)  And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.  (33)  But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,  (34)  And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.  (35)  And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.  (36)  Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?

We have know the multiple interpretations of this passage, but I would like to take us down another line of thought. This passage has been used by many different ministries to incite sympathy for many different causes. 

I have read of those persecuted behind the different curtains of the world. There have been horrific descriptions of the types of torture they have gone through. With the rise of print and then the internet there is much more material available to sift through and the ascendency of satellite TV and the degradation the morals of Hollywood the movies of torture and torment erodes the sensitivities of man until what would have caused horror and outcry today children are allowed to watch, hardening even further the adult generation that they will become.

In the midst of this, there has arisen, in the "civilized" nations of the world that which was only hidden in the dark in past generations. From at least ancient Babylon on, there have been religions that have used torment and torture to intimidate their followers and keep them in line.

In our reading of the world wars and the  communist countries suppression of their people, these same tactics are seen. Now we see them rising their ugly head as cults proliferate and infiltrate society. In recent years we have come in contact with some of these people. They have been brought up in that type of intimidation and kept within the cult because of it. They do not know freedom. After the cult is finished with them they are fractured, much has been stolen from them and they are left beside the road, physically broken, emotionally fragmented, with broken hearts and fragmented lives. The above passage of scripture best describes their condition and the ways they are treated by the church. Few are those who are even willing to believe these things happen in the "civilized" world in what would be counted 1st rate countries or among those who would be numbered in the "free world". Yet the accounts we have heard by those who have come to us for help from multiple different locations and countries are too alike to doubt.

I have personally seen the Pharisee's attitude in the church among ministry as we have tried to help these fragmented people. Those who say the believe in the power of God and of His love for the least of these and yet, when the opportunity arises, they pass by on the other side. How it grieves my heart, and the Lord's heart, I believe, as these who through no fault of their own, in every part of their life have been stolen from, beaten either by words or literally, and left beside life's road for dead.

The scribe is like those who even drop in to see what condition the people are, but refuse to be drawn into that which will take them from their own life and comfort level if they were to reach out and help by walking alongside these wounded souls helping them to health and freedom. Remember, like the children of Israel they can be brought out of that context in a day and there are those who seem to think, that is enough. Yet like the children of Israel who although free physically from Egypt retained within them is the mentality of the slave and the habits along with any infections from wounded spirits and souls. Outwardly they may look whole and be able to present a seemingly acceptable character, yet, inside they are fragmented, shattered, and wounded. Some of them are not even able to share with you what they have been through, because it brings back to them all the horrors complete with mental torment that was present during the actual events. 

There was one who reached out to the man who fell among thieves. He himself was one despised by the other two. He was not pure enough, did not come from the right level of society or the right "denomination". When he saw the man who fell among thieves he  stopped to investigate. Although he could have been putting his own life in jeopardy, if he did consider it, he felt that helping the man was worth putting himself at risk. 

The Samaritan had with him those things that would allow him to triage the wounds. He also was willing to give up his ride so he could get the man to more consistent help. He was also willing to bear the expense. Today especially it would be an unusual event for this to happen. 

This is what we see in the church today. There are many we are discovering who have been caught in the above scenario. More than we might think. In the last little while I have had brought to me a number people who are survivors of satanic ritual abuse. Their torment was so severe that their psychic  was split into many personalities.

Many years ago, God spoke to me from John 6:12. We had not yet recognized people with the above problems although we may have had some among us at the time. But, we did have many who were wounded emotionally, in their mind and in their will. He was instructing us concerning them. As we saw God heal them and gather their fragments and make them whole, God was building our faith and understanding to be able to help those He would bring to us in this condition. 

This Samaritan had enough with him to help the  man initially. God in taking me through these experiences in the past was preparing me to have enough to initially help those he brought who had fallen among the types of thieves I have shared about. These cults rob the participants of their will, mind, and twist their emotions, fragmenting them in all areas and using them for their own ends.  

Those who have been through this need help. They need more than prayer although prayer will help. As I see it, they need levels of commitment to help, healing, and companionship that most of us have not been willing to give in our desire to help others. 

Some who read this will see their reactions to these souls in one of the four types of ministry described.

1. The Pharisee who notices the one fallen among thieves and hurries on his way to do his religious stuff at his personal Jerusalem or place of worship.
2. The scribe who is curious and will come to investigate, but then after evaluating the situation, possibly even giving hope to the wounded one, they move on without doing anything. He too must scurry on about his religious business.
   
3. The Samaritan is both essential and rare in the realms of the Christian today. Others may well help others, in the different realms of woundedness, but these are people are captive and cannot help themselves. Their captors generate fear and endeavor to intimidate any who try to help the one who is fallen, and unable to help themselves. The Samaritan knows all these things and takes the risk.
   
4. The owner of the Inn. Although not much is said of him, he was the one who obviously knew how to finish what the Samaritan had begun. The Samaritan paid the bill, but the Inn Keeper provided a safe place for him to heal.   
   

Although this is a brief outline, what is needed for these who have fallen among thieves that we have come in contact with need.

This is a challenge to the Body of Christ to begin to pray into this group of people expecting God to speak to you about how He wants you to participate in the rescuing these who have fallen among thieves.