Anyways, I thought about that deer as we continued driving down the road, and all at once, I remembered a parable that Christ shared, commonly known as the Parable of the Good Samaritan. The parable goes like this:
"And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee." (Luke 10:30-35)
In the parable, the Levite, and then the Priest chose to walk on by, instead of helping the man. I imagine they both thought up excuses and went on their way. The Samaritan, chose otherwise, and decided to help him, which is pretty amazing considering the fact that the Jews hated the Samaritans. Something I learned recently is that we see what we look for. Because the Levite and Priest sought an excuse, they found one. The Samaritan sought no excuse, but instead sought only to help others, and found the opportunity to do so.
Although there wasn't really anything I could do for that deer, this incident made me reflect on my own life. I asked myself, "How do I react when I see others who are in need of help? Do I, as the Priest and Levite, seek for an excuse - that I am too busy, or that I don't want to get in the middle of whatever is going on- and walk on by? Or do I, as the Samaritan, seek for ways to help those around me, with no thought for myself?
I know that it is through losing ourselves in service to those around us that we can truly find happiness and blessings beyond measure, or as Christ said in many different ways and on many different occasions, "For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it." (Matt. 16:25)
If we will but lose ourselves, and think more about others than we do ourselves, I know God will bless us immensely, as He has promised throughout the scriptures, and we will have many opportunites to serve others. What an amazing blessing this is! I know it is true, for as I have served selflessly, I have been blessed beyond words. Truly, it is only when we are helping others, and thinking more about them than ourselves, can we truly find happiness and peace in this life.
