Let Your Light Shine

By Susan D. Elliott

Are you feeling overwhelmed and unsure of how to be the best friend, neighbor, and helper you can be? Discover the timeless lessons from the parable of the Good Samaritan and learn the power of God's love in your life. With this book, you will learn how to be the light you were meant to be and shine your light to the world. 

 

What's included? 

- Unlock the power of God's love and learn timeless lessons from the parable of the Good Samaritan 

- Transform your life and discover how to be the light of the world 

- Reveal the secrets to becoming a true friend and neighbor 

- Unearth the secrets of a life of loving and helping others 

 

In this book, readers will: 

 

• Uncover how to bring the parable of the Good Samaritan to life in their everyday life 

• Learn to cultivate a spirit of kindness and love for the people around them 

• Transform their mindset and attitude to one of service and gratitude 

• Develop a deeper understanding and appreciation of the importance of community 

• Understand a comprehensive breakdown of the parable of the Good Samaritan

 

 

Buy your copy today and let your light shine! 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Arwen Chandler
• Release date: Nov 1, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223737476

Book preview

Let Your Light Shine

A Study of the Good Samaritan

Susan D. Elliott

In Memoriam Section L

Be near me when my light is low,

When the blood creeps, and the nerves prick

And tingle; and the heart is sick,

And all the wheels of Being slow.

Be near me when the sensuous frame

Is rack’d with pangs that conquer trust;

And Time, a maniac scattering dust,

And Life, a Fury slinging flame.

Be near me when my faith is dry,

And men the flies of latter spring,

That lay their eggs, and sting and sing

And weave their petty cells and die.

Be near me when I fade away,

To point the term of human strife,

And on the low dark verge of life

The twilight of eternal day.

-Alfred Lord Tennyson

Chapter One: The Question

One of the most interesting parables recorded in the Bible is that of the Good Samaritan.  It is a parable that deviates from the social norms of the time.  Jewish society was rigid, steeped in tradition, and had, in some ways, lost the practical teachings of God’s law by replacing it with their own teachings (Matthew 15:9; Matthew 23).

It should be obvious that God wants all men to be treated fairly (Acts 10:34-35), but unfortunately, that isn’t the way people tend to act.  The Good Samaritan parable teaches us how to treat our fellow man (Matthew 7:12), and it shatters the belief that some people are more important than others.  When Christ teaches about the Samaritan, he creates an equal playing field for his followers, and his words show that God’s love is for everyone (Romans 5:8).

Today, just as in the beginning, sin plagues our world (Genesis 6:1-7).  While we aren’t held responsible for the first sins committed in the garden (Ezekiel 18:14, 20; Genesis 3:1-24), we see the consequences of those sins (Romans 5:12) in the world around us (Romans 1:18-32).

There are shootings, murders, abuses of every kind, and evil in nearly every direction we turn.  Many people have given up hope and have fallen into a place of depression.  People often believe that there is nothing they can do to change the world around them, but I want to submit to you that there is something we can do, and we have hope (I Peter 1:3-6).

The Apostle Paul writes, as recorded in I Corinthians 15:54-58,

So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: Death is swallowed up in victory. O Death, where is your sting?  O Hades, where is your victory? The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.  Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.  (NKJV)

His beautiful words remind us that our labor is not in vain.  If we work to teach those around us, the world will change.  We have strength in the Lord (Isaiah 41:10).  There is something everyone can do, and that is to learn how to treat our fellow man.

We must be the change we want to see.  We are charged with being a light that exudes the love of Christ, and because of that, we must take to heart the lessons he has given (Ephesians 5:8).  Before looking at the parable of the Good Samaritan in detail, we need to understand the setting in which it was told.  

The scene begins before Christ ever tells the parable of the Good Samaritan.  Christ had sent out the