Ian - The Good Samaritan

Ian ran as fast as he could across the schoolyard, chasing his football as it rolled behind the building. Just as he reached for it, he heard shouting. “Give me your lunch money!” a bigger boy demanded, cornering a smaller student near the zinc fence. Without even thinking, Ian grabbed a stick and beat it loudly against the building —CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! “Leave him alone!” Ian shouted. Startled, the bully looked around and then ran off. The smaller boy looked at Ian with wide eyes. “Thank you,” he whispered. Ian nodded, picked up his football, and went back to play, his heart still beating fast. That evening, Ian told his mother everything. She smiled warmly and hugged him. “Ian, I am so proud of you. That was very brave.” Ian shrugged. “I just didn’t want him to get hurt.” His mother looked at him kindly. “That’s because love is in your heart.” Ian frowned a little. “But… how is that love? I don’t even know that boy.” His mother sat beside him. “That’s a good question. Let me tell you a parable that Jesus Christ once told. It’s called the story of The Good Samaritan.” “Long ago,” she began, “a man was traveling along a road when robbers attacked him. They took everything he had and left him hurt on the side of the road. A priest came by. He saw the man… but he walked on the other side and did not help. Later, another man came—a Levite. He also saw the hurt man… but he passed by too. Then, a Samaritan came. Now, Samaritans and Jews didn’t usually like each other. But when the Samaritan saw the injured man, he felt compassion. He stopped, helped clean his wounds, and took him to a place where he could rest and be cared for. He even paid for the man’s stay and said he would come back to check on him.” Ian listened carefully. “So the Samaritan helped someone he didn’t even know?” he asked. “Yes,” his mother said. “And even more than that—he helped someone others might not expect him to help.” “Why?” Ian asked. His mother smiled. “Because he understood what Gospel of Luke teaches—that we should love God and love our neighbor as ourselves.” Ian thought for a moment. “So… my neighbor isn’t just people I know?” “That’s right,” she said. “Your neighbor is anyone who needs help. Love isn’t just about knowing someone—it’s about caring for them.” Ian smiled slowly. “So when I helped that boy today… that was love?” His mother nodded. “Yes. You showed the same kind of love that the Good Samaritan did.” Ian felt warm inside. “I want to be like that all the time.” His mother hugged him again. “That’s exactly what Jesus Christ teaches us—to love God, and to love others as we would want to be loved.” That night, as Ian went to bed, he whispered a small prayer: “God, help me love others… even when I don’t know them.” And from that day on, Ian remembered—love isn’t just something you feel. It’s something you do. ❤️