The Good Samaritan...

It was so great to be back at Founders Park this week! For the past three weeks we have been meeting inside because of the rain, and while its good to switch things up, it makes coming back so much better! There is just something about meeting outside that I really love!

That's one long straw!

Today's game was simple, but the kids were pretty excited about it. We split the group up into two teams. Each team member was given a straw. They had to connect all their straws to form one giant straw, and then race to drink a can of Mountain Dew (because, after doughnuts in the morning kids need more sugar, right). It was pretty neat to see how they came up with different plans to help drink the soda faster. In the end I think the team with mostly girls won, but really, we never make a big deal about who wins, its all about having fun.

After the game Grant got to share a little bit more about what it looks like to love others. Last week I talked about how Jesus said the two most important laws in the Bible were, 1. To love God with everything we are, and 2. To love others like we love ourselves. 

In one of the Gospels, right after Jesus tells the religious experts this, one of them questions him again by asking him who Jesus is talking about when he says "others." The person asking the question was most likely expecting Jesus to say something like, "The other Jews." or maybe, "Others that are seeking to please the LORD." Instead, Jesus answers the question with a story about a guy that had been beat, almost to death, by robbers and then left for dead on the side of the road. This guy was a Jew, and as he lay there, several Jewish people passed by, and did nothing to help. A priest passed by and did nothing, and then a "Levite," another person with religious importance, passed by and did nothing. Next a Samaritan passed by. Jews hated Samaritans. There isn't really a good example in American culture to paint a good picture of this, but if there was anyone that was going to help this Jew, it certainly wouldn't be the Samaritan… BUT HE DID!

The Samaritan didn't just stop, but he used his own clothing to bandage the beaten Jew up, and then put him on his donkey, took him to the nearest inn, and paid for the people there to nurse him back to health. 

The Jews treated the Samaritans horribly. This Samaritan had every reason to pass by doing nothing, he could have even given this man a kick in the ribs and no one would have been surprised… but to actually help this Jew at his own expense, unthinkable. 

Jesus told this story to show what he meant by loving others, and to show that when we love him, we are free to love even the people that don't love us back… even the people we have a "right" to ignore.

Grant shared this story because seeing something like this is, in a way, a normal part of life in middle school. Kids get picked on, made fun of, bullied on a regular basis. Grant even shared a story of a time when he was bullied. When these kids begin to see how truly and deeply God loves them, they can then begin to love the kids around them, even when it might cost them something. 

It is our deep desire to make WyldLife a safe place. We want it to be a place where even the kids that are normally picked on can come and find love and acceptance. We want to make sure that there is at least an hour where even the kids that no one else likes can experience what it is like to be enjoyed, and accepted. 

It is our hope and mission to help each of these kids grasp on to the love of Jesus, and then become people like the Samaritan in this story.

On a sad note, this was Riley's last Friday morning with us. He will be spending the next month in Europe, and then be moving to Santa Cruz next semester. I am so thankful to have had him on this team. He has been such a gift to everyone here, and I am excited to see what the future holds for him!

We are really going to miss Riley!