In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. Luke 10:30
“There was the traveller. He was obviously a reckless and foolhardy character. People seldom attempted the Jerusalem to Jericho road alone if they were carrying goods or valuables. Seeking safety in numbers, they travelled in convoys or caravans. This man had no one but himself to blame for the plight in which he found himself.”
William Barclay in The Gospel of Luke (TDSBS; Philadelphia; Westminster Press, 1975) 139.
I changed the header photo to this picture of a closed door in Guatemala City. It reminded that patience and prayers pay off. After 7 years the closed door has finally opened.
What do I mean? CONFIABLE had its first official board meeting and has activated as the peer accountability group for Guatemala (like ECFA in USA). I will come back to this big news in a moment.
After dinner (about 5 blocks walk from the hotel), I said to the group that I would walk back to the hotel for a zoom meeting. They insisted I not walk alone. It would be “too dangerous” they exclaimed!
After my zoom I had my daily office (my time of study with the LORD, because I have to get up in the middle of the night to travel from Guatemala City, Guatemala to San Pedro Sula, Honduras.
So, imagine my surprise when I returned to my commentary and discovered today’s insight. I had never thought about the traveller in the story of the Good Samaritan as “reckless” and likely deserving of his demise.
This added depth to the helper, which makes me henceforth want to call him the Generous Samaritan. He helped not just a person who was hurting but someone whose poor decisions maybe led to his plight.
Before turning in, I thought about the significance of today.
Corruption prevails in Latin America. Some might say the people have been “reckless” but that should not stop us from giving them a hand up. So, I want to challenge you to help me. Please.
The GTP board had already approved a $10,000 matching gift to help CONFIABLE build capacity. When I shared that with the board yesterday, it gave them hope.
They plan to raise $10,000 from local givers by March 2023 and when matched by GTP, they will have $20,000 to hire a staff member and launch their accreditation efforts.
They want to build trust and help ministries grow local giving. But they need our help! Would you be a Generous Samaritan and make a gift to GTP today to help us give them a hand up? Click here to give.