“Go and do likewise.”
— Luke 10:37 (NIV)
One day a man was walking down a long, dusty road. While he was traveling all by himself, some robbers jumped out and hurt him. Then they ran away and left him lying by the side of the road.
The man could not get up. He needed someone to stop and help him. So he waited, hoping a kind person would come along the road.
Soon a very important man came walking by. He saw the hurt man — but he did not stop. He moved to the other side of the road and kept walking.
Then another man came by. He looked at the hurt man too. But he also did not stop. He just kept on going, and the hurt man was still all alone.
At last someone new came along. He was a Samaritan — someone many people did not like. But when he saw the hurt man, his heart was full of kindness. He stopped right away.
The kind man gently cared for the hurt man’s owies, lifted him onto his own donkey, and took him somewhere safe to rest. He made sure the man would be looked after until he was all better. Jesus told this story to show us: we can be kind and help anyone who needs us.
The Big Idea
The kind Samaritan stopped to help someone who needed him, even when others walked past. We can be kind and help anyone who needs us too.
Reflect & Discuss
- 1.Who stopped to help the hurt man on the road?
- 2.How do you think the hurt man felt when the kind stranger helped him?
- 3.Who is someone you could be kind to this week?
A Prayer
Dear God, thank You for always taking care of me. Help me to have a kind heart and to stop and help people when they need me, just like the Good Samaritan did. Amen.
The same story, told for…