[Shep]

Nathan,
Very good. There are things that we need to hear periodically to remind us of how we should be living our lives. My Pastor always stresses that we shouldn't just hear or read of Jesus's teachings, but that they are worthless to us if we don't apply them in our lives.
I just want to add a little something else. The story of The Samaritan and the victim of the robbers was explained to us by my Pastor in one of his sermons. A while back he was doing a series on love, and he used the Samaritan story to make a point. While I had heard the "Good Samaritan" story many times throughout my life my Pastor added something that I never heard before, and frankly, never really thought about.
Back in Jesus's time Jews and Samaritans were enemies, much like Palestinians and Israelis today. Without going into great detail, the point that my Pastor wanted to make was that we need to help and love everyone. As difficult as it is, we can show true christian character and love, and break down the walls (as you mentioned, Nathan) by being there to help and show love to our enemies, not just our friends. The Samaritan showed this unselfish love to his enemy and we need to do the same to make this world a better place. I know that it is something that I have to work on in my life as it does not come natural to me to help someone who has hurt me.