Jesus was journeying back to Galilee from Jerusalem. The custom of His time was to make a detour around Samaria, the country of the hated Samaritans. They were half-Jews and had their own worship system, but Jesus is no respecter of persons. Long before anti-discrimination and affirmative action laws were in place, Jesus treated everyone fairly. He showed the same love for the lost Samaritans as He did for His fellow Jews. He was not bigoted as most Jews were. And , as He was resting on a well, He even asked a Samaritan women for a drink. She was amazed that a Jew was asking her for a drink. This developed into a conversation about salvation and eventually she was saved along with many people from that city. Jesus stayed there for two days teaching them.
We may say that discrimination has been virtually eliminated in the country and that is largely true. But, how do we treat people that are financially less well off, or what about the homeless person on the street. They, too, have a soul that Jesus cares about. We may say, "Well, they are just lazy and could have a home and job if they wanted to." That may be true, but they have an eternal soul that will live in heaven or hell someday, and Jesus has called us to reach out to them and share the good news of salvation with them. How am I doing? How are you doing? Do we judge people by the way they look or their financial status. Do we share the Gospel with the hardened sinner and the homeless person alike? What will God say to us on the judgment day when he looks at what is written about our life?
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