captive by Assyria; the Southern Tribes (Judah and Benjamin) were in danger of invasion. The pèople’s hearts were failing them for fear. Then came Micah’s message of hope and encourage ment: God does not require impossible things of His people. He has showed them what He wants, namely, that they do justly, that they love mercy, and that they walk humbly with their God. Man’s Mistake Regarding God The average man has mistaken con ceptions of God. He thinks of Him as Women’s Christian Medical College Ludhiana, India Training young Indian Women to become doctors» nurses» dispensers» mid-wives The new Government o f India is demanding an upgrading of this medical college by t 1952. If this is not done it will mean that this sound» evangelical work of over fifty years will be curtailed. W e need funds A T ONCE for equip ment, scholarships, our Surgeon’s salary. Miss Lucy Powel, Sec.-Treas., R3, Norristown,t Pa.
garment (Matt. 22:1-14). But, thank God, He has provided every man with the garment of His own righteousness which may be had by simple faith alone (2 Cor. 5:21; Rom. 1:16, 17). This poor man was “ wounded” and “ left half dead.” The spiritual applica tion breaks down here because the sin- •ner is not “ half dead” but totally dead in trespasses and sins (Eph. 2:1-3). The work of the Saviour, therefore, is more wonderful than that of the Sama ritan, because He gives life from the dead! We can never thank Him enough for His matchless grace that brought us forth out of the grave of spiritual death and made us alive for evermore! The Samaritan and The Neighbour An important application of this par able of the Good Samaritan has to do with the Christian’s attitude toward every man. But the most fitting applica tion is to Christ Himself. Our Lord, as the heavenly “ Good Samaritan,” came along life’s road in order to help every man out of his predicament caused by sin. Every word of the text is beautiful in this connection: “ as he journeyed” (v. 33) reminds us of our Lord’s jour ney from Heaven to earth to save the lost; “ came where he was” tells us that our Lord moved into our very sphere of existence, yet without sin (Phil. 2:5- 11); “when he saw him” informs us that our Lord has eyes for man’s desperate need; “had compassion on him” instructs us of the mighty love of the Saviour; “went to him” (v. 34) tells us how the Saviour comes to every soul (Rev. 3:20); “bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine” tells us of the healing power of Jesus’ cross; “ set him on his own beast” reminds us that our Lord carries us and upholds us along life’s way (Psa. 55:22); “ and took care of him” informs us that God will take care of us throughout our earthly life (Matt. 6:25-34). Christ is all the sinner needs. Have you trusted your life and your eternal salvation to Him? The passage in Micah has been called one of the sweetest and grandest texts in the Bible, and with this judgment many of us heartily concur. Although Micah 6:8 is found in the Old Testa ment, it contains truth that knows no dispensational limitations; it sets forth the divine requirements for God’s people of every age. Happy is the Christian who fulfills these three requirements. A word of background of the Micah text is in order: The prophet was writ ing to God’s people at a time when they were terribly discouraged. Because of their sin the nation was in peril. The northern tribes (Israel) had been taken August 24, 1952 HUMBLY WITH THY GOD Micah 6:8; Mark 9:33-37
that every person in trouble is the Christian’s neighbour. The lawyer was trying to trip our Lord in His speech in order that the religious leaders of the day might have something of which to accuse Him. They despised Him because He uncovered their sham and religious hypocrisy (v. 25-29). Our Lord hates unreality in a man’s life, and especially when that unreality has a religious veneer. Some of the strongest language He ever spoke was to religious hypocrites (Matt. 23). Human nature seems to find it easy to live a double life. Outwardly we may seem very religious, but inwardly we may be filled with dead men’s bones. Let every Christian make his calling and election sure (2 Peter 1:10). In the parable of w . 30-37, our Lord tells us that our neighbour is anyone who is in need. We place the emphasis on the word anyone because this is the point of the parable. It was “ a certain man” who was ambushed and left for dead. His nationality is not mentioned in order that we might concentrate on the fact of his humanity and not on his national origin. These words of our Lord also instruct us that anyone who is in need is our “neighbour.” The “ certain priest” of the story (v. 31) did not minister to the injured man, nor did the Levite, prob ably because they were both afraid for their own skins. They thought more of their precious hide than they did of humanity or of duty! Christians, espe cially, should minister to human need. Missionaries have found that one of the quickest ways into the hearts of the people to whom they minister is via the avenue of aid for their sicknesses. Doc tors and nurses on mission fields win the love and gratitude of the people and then can minister to their spiritual needs with greater effectiveness. The same principle holds good in our relationship with people everywhere. If we lend the helping hand and show genuine interest in men and women, even though they are not yet believers, we make real progress in winning them ultimately to Jesus Christ. Our “Neighbour’s” Greatest Need In the parable the traveler “fell among thieves.” How typical this is of the condition of every soul out of Christ! Surely the sinner is being robbed by Satan of his birthright.' Every man is a candidate for Heaven but how very few enter into their riches. Instead they are “ among thieves”—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—these rob the soul of fel lowship with God in this life and in that which is to come (1 John 2:15-17). The poor man in the parable was “stripped of his raiment.” This is ex actly the state of the man without Christ. We recall the parable of Christ about the man without the wedding
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JULY, 1952
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