The Good Samaritan and Global Vaccines
I recently wrote an article featured in Christianity Today on global vaccine distribution and the Good Samaritan story. (Thank you, Dr. Ed Stetzer, for the invitation!)
From the beginning, God gave special instructions to His people to not hoard and to leave enough food for sojourners in the land. If you trace that thread through the rest of the story, you’ll hear about the margins again from the prophets in Isaiah’s proclamation that true fasting and obedience is sharing, clothing, providing, not turning away and as Amos’ harkening in the songs of justice rolling down like a river, righteousness like a never-ending stream. Then we finally get to Jesus bursting on the scene in his opening sermon: “For the Spirit of the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor, proclaiming liberty to the captives” (Luke 4:18).
Let’s trace that same freedom sentiment through the Apostle Paul’s words in Galatians, “It is for [that] freedom we have been set free” to do what the entire law can be summed up in – “Love your neighbor as yourself”. And again, to the Corinthian church, “At the present time, your plenty will supply what they need so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. The goal is equality.”
Here’s the link for the full article. I hope it encourages and compels.
-FNE