“He answered, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” - Luke 10:27
Years ago, two young men from our church were graduating high school and received a small inheritance—just enough for a quick three-day trip to Hawaii. They had never traveled before, and you can imagine their excitement!
Both were athletes. One was a runner, and the other, a basketball player. They each set off on their own to explore the island through exercise. The basketball player, ever committed, decided to run the stairs of their hotel for his workout. But when he finished, he realized something horrible—he had locked himself in the stairwell.
He pounded on the door. He yelled. People passed by, but no one stopped. Maybe they thought he was a troublemaker or just didn’t want to get involved. But he figured, “At least my best friend will notice I’m missing and come look for me.”
Hours passed. Finally, his friend emerged from their room—but walked right by the door without so much as a glance. The trapped young man screamed and pounded on the window. Still—nothing.
Eventually, at midnight, a hotel employee rescued him. But by then, the damage to their friendship was done. They didn’t speak for a year.
That’s the story of the Good Samaritan in reverse.
Jesus told us to love God with everything we’ve got—and to love our neighbor as ourselves. But how often do we walk by those in need, not out of cruelty, but out of distraction, discomfort, or convenience? Radical love flips the script. It listens when others walk by. It looks when others turn away. It stops. It helps. It pays the price.
As C.S. Lewis once said, “Love is not affectionate feeling, but a steady wish for the loved person’s ultimate good as far as it can be obtained.”
And maybe this goes without saying—but if your best friend gets trapped in a stairwell, at least look!
Join us this Memorial Sunday as we remember not only those who’ve sacrificed for us, but also our calling to live out Jesus’ command—to love big, to love radically, and to love our neighbors as ourselves.
And yes, we’ll also be flipping the script on your appetite—with a chicken dinner potluck after service. Because love shows up with casseroles, too.
Your friend for the rest of my life,
Pastor Tim White
