Looking for a few Good Samaritans

 Cactus Garden at Huntington Park
 Cactus plants come in different shapes, sizes and forms. Some have protruding spines that can be quite prickly and sticky.

 Many people do not even want to come near a cactus plant, let alone walk through a garden full of them. However, Cacti are beautiful to look at, but be cautious while touching them, especially the prickly ones or you might come back with a bleeding finger.
  
Cactus plants are known to hold moisture and over time some of their bodies become thick and harden.They are one of a few species that have adapted well to particularly hostile environments.

Their body language can send out signals saying, “Leave me alone. Don’t bother me. You don’t know what I am going through. I don’t feel like being nice to you today.”

I know I have come across a few of these people in my lifetime and at times I have been one of them.

In the picture above you will notice some beautiful red flowers located right behind the cactus plants. You can’t get to the beautiful flowers inside this section of the garden without going through the cacti. The cactus plants act almost like a circular barrier protecting the beautiful flowers and preventing anyone from any kind of contact with them.

The cactus garden reminded me of the story of the Good Samaritan in the bible. The parable tells how a traveler was robbed and beaten and left for dead. A priest and then a Levite came by and noticed the beaten man, but both avoided him. Then a Samaritan came by and noticed the beaten traveler. It was stated that during those times the Jews and Samaritans despised each other. The Samaritan was aware of the dangers of helping the beaten traveler, but this did not matter to him. He just wanted to help the stranger. He bandaged his wounds, poured oil on them, gave him wine, and then took the stranger to an inn for care.

Are you willing to be a Good Samaritan and go beyond the barriers to help a stranger? Are you willing to take a step forward even if it means you may be stuck by the prickly spines and experience some pain while doing so to help a neighbor? It is easy to walk by and ignore your neighbor like the priest and Levite did in the parable, but God is calling you to do the opposite. Love your neighbor and become a Good Samaritan.

The next time someone is portraying a prickly barrier, look for the inner beauty of their heart. Do not let their callus exterior prevent you from helping them. There is beauty beyond that thick harden skin; help that beauty shine through like the flowers in the cactus garden.

God is looking for a few good Samaritans. Are you one of them?