A Soul is a Soul, is a Soul
When we dive through the depths of political differences,
the cultural diversities, and the sexual issues that plague our world, when we
cut through the layers of confusion, half-truths, and water down answers the
enemy has been trying to sell us, when we wield the Sword of the Spirit the
Word of God and peel them all away, we hit this bedrock truth: A soul is a
soul, is a soul.
There is evidence in the Word of God of this truth.
“For God so loved the world… “
The world being who? Everyone? All?
Another piece of scripture attests to this fact.
“Love your enemy.” We are called to love those we love and
to love those we consider enemies.
The greatest story that demonstrates my thought is the story
of
The Good Samaritan.
The Samaritans, who were part of the tribes of Israel, were
an enemy of the Jewish people going back as far as the split of Israel into the
Northern and Southern Kingdoms. The history between these two people who should
have been one is long and painful which makes the story that Jesus tells all
that more potent.
My paraphrased Luke 10:25-37: There is a man
traveling a road. He is set upon by robbers and stripped of his clothes and
property, beaten, and left for dead. Naked, alone, and defenseless.
Another man comes along, a Jewish priest. He sees the man
and avoids him by moving to the other side of the road. Still later, another
man also affiliated with the synagogue comes along and sees the man. He, too,
moves to the other side of the road.
Finally, a third man, the Samaritan, comes along.
We have no idea how long the man has been lying on the side
of the road in this condition, but this man stops.
The Samaritan doesn’t know the man who is lying there, but
he stops because someone should. It’s the right thing to do.
He checks the man’s wounds. He administers some wine to kill
the germs and some oil to help the bruising. He wraps the man’s wounds probably
with cloth from his garments or other supplies. Then, he places the man on his
ride and heads to the nearest town.
Once there, he does not leave him that first night. We are
not told by Jesus what transpired only that he stayed, but I imagine the
Samaritan made sure his wounds had been properly attended, as well as arranged
for some food and water.
I wonder if they talked. Did the man regain consciousness?
Did they introduce themselves? To be a fly on the wall. How did the Jew react when he found
himself in the debt of an enemy?
The next morning the Samaritan leaves to continue his journey,
paying for the night as well as any expenses incurred by the Jew after he
leaves, with a promise to settle up any overage the next time he comes to town.
This man invested time, money, and love into his enemy.
Leading us to the next piece of evidence of this truth that
everyone has a soul and every soul is important to God, the second great
commandment: Love our neighbors as ourselves.
At the end of the story, Jesus asks the expert in the law, “so who was the man’s neighbor,” and he answered, “the Samaritan.”
Who is our neighbor?
Yes, once we dig to the bottom of all the gobbledygook, who
are our enemies or who are our friends, who is above us or who is below us, we
find this hidden gem. A simple, uncomplicated truth of our Christian faith: A
soul is a soul, is a soul. And as long as there is breath in that soul, there
is hope of redemption.
Finding God’s grace,