Lucifer was once an honored angel, a cherub. He was perfect in beauty, full of wisdom, and was admitted to the holy mountain of God, where he walked in the midst of the stones of fire. He was in Eden, the garden of God, of which the one on earth was evidently a copy. His ways were perfect, and God gave him the work of "covering," and also anointed him.

But Lucifer was not satisfied. He was envious of God, he became lifted up because of his beauty; he corrupted his wisdom because of his brightness, and decided upon a course which he hoped would make him equal to God. He went so far that he said, "I am a God, I sit in the seat of God."

It was after a certain lawyer had asked Jesus concerning eternal life and had received the answer that he must love God with all his heart and his neighbor as himself, that Jesus told the parable of the good Samaritan.

This well-known parable reads as follows: "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. Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves! And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise." Luke 10:30-37.

In this parable Jesus tells us that our neighbor is not merely the man who lives next door, or one of our relatives, or a member of the same church, or even a citizen of our own country. He may be an entire stranger to us. We may not know his name, and it may be only a chance meeting that brings us together. The one thing that matters is that there is a need, and that we may be able to help. The good Samaritan took the whole burden upon himself. He did not unload the unfortunate man on the innkeeper. He paid for his immediate care and arranged for the future. He could have done no more had it been one of his friends.

It would have been kind of the Samaritan if he had put the man on his beast and taken him to the inn for others to take care of. It was doing more than could be expected of him when the Samaritan provided for the man as he did, and promised to pay any further charges incurred. Christ doubtless gave this direction to the parable to show us what He considers real Christianity to be. The Christian will not spare himself. He will do all that he can, and then ask whether there is any more he can do.

The Samaritan could have passed by on the other side as did the priest and the Levite. He could have argued that probably the robbers were still in the neighborhood, and that it was dangerous to stop. He could have said that the man was not of his nationality but of a nation that hated Samaritans, and that the wounded man would almost certainly not stop to help a Samaritan if the roles were reversed. He could have reasoned that his ministration would not be appreciated, that it would greatly inconvenience him to stop to minister to the victim, and that he did not care to get mixed up in the mess. All this he could have reasoned, but he did not. All he saw was a man who needed help, and he extended it to him. That, Christ says, is Christianity.