The Real Enemy

            People are continually trying to fight the wrong enemy (see Ephesians 6:12).  Instead of standing against Satan and his forces, we are often influenced to combat our fellow man (flesh and blood).  We build walls and keep the very people at bay who can be our greatest asset in our struggle against the devil and his schemes.  And, even though the Bible is full of examples and instructions on how to love, serve and treat others, we continue to struggle with accepting “outsiders” and others we are uncomfortable with and suspicious of.

            One example of this involved the Samaritan people.  They were descendants of the surviving Israelites from the northern kingdom who intermarried with the aliens deported to the region by their Assyrian captors.  Though they worshiped the same God (YHWH) and based their religious authority on the same five books of Moses that the Jews did, they also incorporated pagan practices in their worship rituals (2 Kings 17:24-41).  Thus, to the Jew’s minds, they had mixed both the race and true religion with worldly and idolatrous influences. 

            The Jews returning from Babylonian exile refused the Samaritan’s request to help rebuild Jerusalem and the temple.  This created a hatred and animosity between the two groups that lasted for some 500 years – right up to the time of Jesus and the early church.  Yet, Jesus had great success among the Samaritans who were anticipating the arrival of the LORD’s Messiah.

            Note how Jesus used a Samaritan as the hero in His well-known parable (Luke 10:25-37).  The self-righteous religious expert couldn’t even bring himself to say “the Samaritan” when asked who had acted like the real neighbor, but he definitely got the message Jesus was teaching.

            And notice the reaction of the disciples when they returned from buying lunch and found Jesus talking to a woman – and a Samaritan woman at that!  His interview with her brought out the hostility felt by the Samaritans for the Jews, but also revealed God’s love for everyone – even those considered “outsiders.”  A whole town learned this important lesson as a direct result.

            And when the gospel went out into all the world, it had a great reception among the Samaritans (Acts 8), probably because of Jesus’ acceptance of them and the disciple’s eagerness to fulfill the mission of His kingdom.  Peter and John no doubt remembered the incident recorded in John 4 and were inclined to see Jesus’ work among the Samaritans fulfilled.

            Do we really have time to be fighting, arguing, quarreling with other people?  Can we really label anyone as being unnecessary or avoidable?   Satan wants you to think so.  Don’t let him.  Fight the real enemy by listening to Jesus and using His example to include as many allies into your life as possible.  Defeat Satan by seeing everyone as “insiders”, “allies” and as “fellow workers” in Christ.

Doug