Pour On the Oil and the Wine

In Luke 10:30-36 Jesus tells the story of a man who showed practical love and kindness to a stranger.

“A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’"

Just like this man that we now know as the Good Samaritan, you and I are to going to come upon wounded people along our path. Their wounds are not bloody and gaping on the outside. Instead, their hearts are broken. They have forgotten how to smile, for real, from the inside. They are insecure, lonely, and they wish they could trust again. They carry unseen loads of guilt, shame, self-loathing. They never feel comfortable in their own skin. They feel different although they don't quite know what 'normal' is. Broken hearts, oppressed spirits, mangled emotions, and tormented thoughts. Lying along the path you just happen to be traveling.

If you've met Christ, then you've met the Healer. You've been touched by the One who makes all things new, a perfect Redeemer. You are sealed with His Spirit. Spirit-filled believer you are a reservoir of living water which these people need to be saved, healed, revived. The Spirit of God is often prefigured in the Old Testament Scriptures as holy anointing oil, and compared in the New Testament Scriptures to heart-gladdening new wine. Draw out and pour on the oil and wine to the hurting and broken. Your tongue is the ladle, and the spout. Speak kind words. Speak healing words. Proclaim truth. Share the gospel of Jesus Christ. Pray and intercede with faith. You are meant to be more than an occasional Good Samaritan. You are always on duty, an ambassador of Jesus Christ and a minister of reconciliation (2 Cor 5:18-20). You are drawing on a never-ending supply, so go on, pour on the oil and the wine.