Neglect by the Church and the Ministry
In the invitation to the gospel supper the Lord Jesus has specified
the work to be done—the work that the churches in every locality,
north, south, east, and west, should do.
The churches need to have their eyes anointed with the heavenly
eyesalve, that they may see the many opportunities all about them to
minister for God. Repeatedly God has called upon His people to go
out into the highways and hedges, and compel men to come in, that
His house may be full; yet even within the shadow of our own doors
are families in which we have not shown sufficient interest to lead
them to think that we cared for their souls. It is this work lying nearest
us that the Lord now calls upon the church to undertake. We are not
to stand, saying: “Who is my neighbor?” We are to remember that
our neighbor is the one who most needs our sympathy and help. Our
neighbor is every soul who is wounded and bruised by the adversary.
Our neighbor is everyone who is the property of God. In Christ the
distinctions made by the Jews as to who was their neighbor are swept
away. There are no territorial lines, no artificial distinctions, no caste,
no aristocracy.
Opportunities Slighted
The spirit of the good Samaritan has not been largely represented
in our churches. Many in need of help have been passed by, as the
priest and Levite passed by the wounded and bruised stranger who had
been left to die by the wayside. The very ones who needed the power
of the divine Healer to cure their wounds have been left uncared for
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and unnoticed. Many have acted as if it were enough to know that
Satan had his trap all set for a soul, and they could go home and care
not for the lost sheep. It is evident that those who manifest such a
spirit have not been partakers of the divine nature, but of the attributes
of the enemy of God.
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