As I stepped onto the sidewalk, I noticed him. Lying there, lifeless, as passersby passed him by without a second look, he remained helpless. Sawang went right over to him to see if he was...alive, and discovered, yes, the man was just unconscious and reaked of whiskey.
Sawang phoned the police and we waited over an hour for someone to come and collect the man. Even though Sawang had not mentioned the man smelled of alcohol, that's what everyone who saw him figured, and refused to help us.
A police truck finally made it's way slowly up the road toward us, but took one look at the man on the side of the road and just kept on driving.
This reminds me of that famous account of the Good Samaritan in the bible.
“A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’ So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?” And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
That man had been abused, and still stirred no compassion in others. This present day victim's wounds were self-inflicted, yet he, too, needs someone to reach out to him with compassion.
A Lifestyle
I believe this biblical account is not only an example of how we should be in general, but also of how God views missions. He moved on the heart of the Samaritan to minister to a foreigner, when his own people had no compassion for him.
The Good Samaritan is how God views missions. It is our responsibility and priviledge to minister to the lost who are not of our tribe, language, culture. Notice the Samaritan was in a foreign land himself, and saw his responsibility laid out before him. That is how I see my calling, and I want you too see your role in being a Good Samaritan, and partner with us to minister to those whose own people have forsaken them.
Together in Christ, Sawang & Lee-Anne Treetippitak
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