Emotionally Mature

The Good Samaritan

Luke 10:25-37 NIV
On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" "What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?" 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.'" "You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live." But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.' "Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?" The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him." Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."

Becoming Emotionally Mature

In our final week in our journey to emotionally healthy spirituality we are looking at the emotional part. We've spent weeks looking at different pathways to healthy spirituality, now we bring that together with being emotionally mature. Christ calls us to have a spirituality that is truly connected. Where my love for God and my love for people are inseparable. The parable of Good Samaritan is a great example of an emotionally mature person. The first two men in the story have a disconnected spirituality. They somehow have separated loving God and loving others. The Samaritan on the other hand saw the man and had compassion. Jesus said 'go and do likewise'. The emphasis is on the word do... go and do! For us to grow into emotionally mature adults there are two basic keys. 1. Examine our origin - how did we learn to express feelings and emotions? 2. Take practical steps of discipleship to grow. It takes work, but a caterpillar doesn't turn into a butterfly overnight. This is your spirituality having an impact on the deep iceberg parts of who you are so that you truly are different in the ways that you relate to people. The process will be worth it.

My Copious Notes

I think the sermon notes say it all this week and there is little that I could add. The song we sang after the sermon was "Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God" and I think it said a lot also.

My God bless you richly this week.

Richard.