The Kind Stranger

Someone asked Jesus, 'Who is my neighbor?'

Jesus told a story to answer:

A man was walking down a road when—BAM! Robbers attacked him! They took everything he had and left him lying on the ground, hurt and bleeding.

A priest came walking down the road. He saw the hurt man. Did he help? NOPE! He crossed to the other side and kept walking.

Then a Levite came—another important religious person. He looked at the hurt man, then walked right past on the other side. No help!

Then came a Samaritan. Now, Jewish people and Samaritan people did NOT like each other. They were kind of like enemies.

But when the Samaritan saw the hurt man, his heart hurt for him. He stopped! He cleaned the man's wounds and wrapped them up. He put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn.

The Samaritan paid for the man to stay at the inn. He told the innkeeper, 'Take care of him. If it costs more, I'll pay you back!'

Jesus asked, 'Which one was a good neighbor to the hurt man?'

The answer was obvious: the Samaritan! The one everyone thought was an enemy!

'Go and do the same,' Jesus said.

Your neighbor isn't just the person who lives next door. Your neighbor is ANYONE who needs help—even someone who's different from you. Be like the Good Samaritan!