You have given of yourselves to see the light of the gospel taken to remote corners of the world. You’ve given of your finances, your time and your energy to see that sparkle of understanding appear in the eyes of those who didn’t know about the Son of God coming as a baby, living a perfect life, dying for them and rising again to bring new life.

I’ve thought about what it takes for the world to know about the Saviour of mankind, to understand why He came to die and to accept His gift of life. Christmas has come and gone, and we gave and received gifts. It is appropriate that we consider the greatest gift of all — eternal life. That makes me think about the parable of the Good Samaritan and the cast of characters whose lives reflect the three ways we can think of who we are, of what we have and of how we respond to the Great Commission.

You remember the story, don’t you? The thieves lying in wait for anyone to come along to take from them. Their whole attitude was “What’s yours is MINE!” Take, take, take. Life is about what’s good for me and mine!” At times we will take as much as we can get, whether it is someone else’s time or energy or even money.

And then as the spotlight moves on to the three other religious leaders or lay people, we can see yet another attitude: “What’s mine is MINE!” Move to the other side so you don’t have to see people in pain, ignore the cries for help, seal up the bank account so nothing can slip out that doesn’t benefit you. You as a believer have within you a great … no, an unfathomable gift — the Spirit of Truth. How can we keep it to ourselves? And then all those other things we claim — our time, our money, our abilities — God has given them to us. How can we keep them tightly hugged to our chest?

And then, of course, the Samaritan came along. The scorned, the unloved, the reviled Samaritan who, for all practical purposes, should have followed suit and gone WAY around the injured man. But no, he exhibited that godly character of “What’s mine is YOURS.” He gave of his time, his supplies, his transportation and his money in order to see that injured man taken care of, to make sure he survived, to ensure he had a life before him. He seemed to have no qualms about helping someone who would normally despise him. He was indeed the “neighbour” that demonstrates how we need to respond.

Thank you that, like the Samaritan, you have given of your time and possessions. You have given to see His Word go forth to the nations. May God continue to work in all of our lives that we might fall down before Him and tell Him without hesitation, “What’s mine is Yours!”