When this Christmas-spirit
exemplifying young cop purchased the shoes for the barefoot man, he did a
selfless thing. His response to the man
that many would pass him up, reminded me of the story of the Good Samarian in
Luke 10:30-37 which teaches us to show an attitude of giving towards anyone in
need regardless of their ethnic, religious, social or economic background.
At the close
of the Good Samaritan story, Jesus challenged the expert in the law with these
words: "Go and do likewise” (v. 37). The Good Samaritan did his part and
earned the adjective "good" to his ethnic name which some people of
his day did not consider good at all. He, therefore, set such a good example
for us to emulate or mimic in our relationships with others.
NYPD
officer Larry DePrimo is said to have learned to show acts of kindness to
others from his grandfather. As he helped the homeless man, the generous officer
was not intending to get any attention or credit for it, whatsoever. If it wasn’t
as a result of a photo that a tourist from Phoenix, Arizona snapped on her cell
phone of what transpired in New York City, the touching story would probably
have not been known. However,
it would have been known as far as our Heavenly Father is concerned for nothing
ever goes unnoticed to Him—He sees what we do in secret and rewards us. The Good Samaritan did not blow his own trumpet
but instead did what he had to do to help the man the robbers beat up and left
half-dead.
NYPD officer
DePrimo is indeed “a modern-day Good Samaritan.” His actions demonstrated God’s
love and kindness towards the homeless man. May this heart-warming act, remind us that God
is good and does great things. Likewise, we should do good acts of service to
all, especially those of the household of faith (Galatians 6:10). To apply what the NYPD officer did into our
lives, let’s endeavor to be "good Samaritans for Jesus" today by
doing three things, namely:
1.
Share our
resources with the less fortunate.
2.
Spend quality
time with others and turn our conversations to talking about spiritual things,
3.
Show God’s love
to all without any discrimination.
