I Was The Levite

I hope I was the Samaritan. But, I was not.

I hope I can undo things. But, I can't.

I wish I may, I wish I might change the way I did it.

But again, I can't.

I was not the Samaritan. 

I was the Levite. 
Sigh.

Come, and read with me: 

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The Parable of the Good Samaritan

Luke 10:25-37 (NIV, italics mine)

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On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

“What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”

He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”

But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

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. 

A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 

So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 

But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him.

He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 

The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”

Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

Reflecting on my personal journey and context, I was rebuked straight to the face when I saw myself in the person of the Levite. 

I have not been at peace. I know something's not right. I am not happy.

Yes, the word Levite appeared only once in this passage but whoa! it was a blow!

I am sorry, Lord. I am really sorry.

If Jesus is here with me in the flesh, I'm probably covering my face right now because of shame. 

I am sorry, Lord. I am really sorry.

I feel that sorry is not good enough. It's not just good enough. But with this grieving heart, with this regretful soul, I see the grace of God. I see His grace that even I fall short of His glory, His love never fails. That His love is not based on what I did or didn't do. Philip Yancey penned it better: 

“ There is nothing we can do to make God love us more … and nothing we can do to make God love us less. ” 

God's love is based on who He is. He is the God of love. And above all, He is love himself.

God is love. He is love. That is His person. That is His attribute.

Writing this post is a no easy thing. I have braved myself, gathered all the courage I can get for this sole intention: I want to remember that humbling night when I'd like to beat myself up for missing the message of love. I hope things can just be easy for me ~ easy enough to just close my eyes, sleep it away, forget and let things pass. But it's not how it's done. It has to dealt with, it needs to be corrected.

Why did I miss it? Why have I been so self-absorbed?

In my daily walk, I pray that I will ALWAYS emanate God's love, day in or day out... and that I will always remember that it's not about me, it's not what about what and how I feel, but it's about God's truth minus the biases and feelings.

I failed. I cried. I am humbled. I learned.

And now to this I say: I am not called to be a Levite. No wonder I am grieving. I am called to be the Good Samaritan. The same goes for all of us.

The Levite, yes, I was. Not 'I am'. Not and never 'I will be'.
So, help me God.