It’s a story as old as time. A man finds himself robbed, beaten, and unable to move on the side of the road. People pass him by, ignoring the fact that he is there and in need of help. Everyone except for one specific person. The Samaritan.
At the time of this story, the Samaritans were the outcast of society. They were Jewish, yet they were hated by their Israeli counterpart. Why? Because the Samaritans were mixed races. They married outside their faith and culture. But, it’s the Samaritans that were used to teach life lessons and morals to humankind; all men and women.
It was the Samaritan that took care of the man on the side of the road. It was the Samaritan that gave water to a Jew and would later follow him. But, who are these Samaritans?
Today, they are a society of around 1,000 people nestled within the Israeli culture. They follow Israeli standards, but attend Palestinian schools. They continue as they did centuries ago to be an example of humankind accepting and living within differing cultures.
Thankful for the storyteller my Creator is, I find myself understanding why the Samaritans were chosen to be our example. They were a mixed outcast of a differing mindsets of the time. They saw a person in need and helped them, fed them, gave them a drink when thirsty. Yet, they were just a blink of a community within a bigger picture. A picture that, today, anybody on earth can understand and interpret.
Samaritans In Christ are much alike the Samaritans of old age. They are a motorcycle group of men and women from all walks of life who come together in likeness of mind and faith. Some of their journeys have been rough and others easy, but none of that matters. As one they ride and as one they serve those who are in need.
With the holidays coming and going, the Samaritans In Christ are feeding the homeless and giving those in need jackets and coats to withstand the weather.
Being a new member, I had not yet truly experienced their impact until we all caravanned to a destination for feeding and clothing the homeless yesterday. Those on their bikes led those of us who were in vehicles to a place in downtown I didn’t even know existed (shame on me!). As we pulled up, one of the homeless was shouting and trying to get others away from us. Maybe the bikes scared them as they do a lot of people (which is unfortunate). But, we went about what we there to do anyway and fed people until we were completely out of food. Us. A mixed group of people dressed in their leather vests and motorcycle gear, and the rest of us who don’t have a vest (yet). The impact was amazing and people were fed not just with food but with a love for humankind that they rarely experience in their situation.
It is the love of service; this love of wanting to help others because we are ultimately the same that drew me to this group. Our members may fit the stereotypical mode of bikers on the outside but, like our original Samaritan counterparts, we are just a group of people who have chosen to come together to love and serve as we were designed to do for our fellow brother and sister.
