The Good Samaritan on Highway 461

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It was a steamy summer morning, and we were stranded on a desolate stretch of South Carolina Highway 461. Leaving the coast after a week’s getaway, my family headed home on the back roads. We thought they would be a pleasant contrast to a day on the interstates. Americana, you know. A glimpse into heartland America.

Two hours later, we were rolling to a stop on the shoulder of 461, steam billowing out from under the hood. A burst hose, we assumed. Easy fix. Call AAA. Call 911?

Not so fast. Remember, it was a country highway through sparse terrain. Not a one of our cell phones could call out. However, there was a house nearby. They’re bound to be the neighborly type, glad to help us call for help. No one came to the door. Furthermore, there was not another house in sight in either direction down the long straight stretch of Highway 461.

A few cars and trucks sped by as the morning heat was ramping up to sweltering midday. Finally, a pickup truck stopped. It was Mike* and his nephew Toby* (about ten years old). They were headed for a day of fishing. Mike prowled around under the hood with my brother, Lynn, for a few minutes and announced, “I don’t think it’s a leaky hose; I believe it’s your water pump. Let us go back to Daddy’s and get his tools and a jack.”

Lynn went with them and later told us that when they pulled up at Daddy’s house, he was sitting in his front porch rocking chair. He announced, “Your mama’s still got breakfast on the table – eggs, ham, biscuits.”

“This man’s car is broken down,” Mike answered, “and I need to borrow your tools.” From that moment on, neither Mike nor his dad nor Toby seemed to give a second thought to breakfast – or fishing.

They were soon back on the roadside with us. After a little more diagnosing, Mike concluded, “Yes, it’s the water pump.” Lynn asked where we could get a new one and if Mike could install it. Mike assured us he could. No charge was negotiated.

We’d already taken more than an hour of their time, but Mike was our best hope to get our van back on the road, AC on high. They went to the nearest auto parts store (nearly an hour round trip) for a new water pump. It turned out to be the wrong water pump. The second parts store was still farther away.

Fast forward. Finally, Mike had installed a new pump, and our van was road-ready.

“How much do we owe you, Mike?” Lynn asked.

“Aw, I can’t take money from ya,” he drawled. “My life’s just been so blessed. It’s fun to bless somebody else for a change.” Mike had spent four hours with us, giving up family time and their plans to serve strangers stranded by the road.

Mike’s deed is a picture-perfect reflection of the good Samaritan in Jesus’s parable in Luke 24:30-35. A wounded man was beaten by robbers and left helpless beside the path. Religious leaders passed by without helping him. But a simple Samaritan felt compassion, bandaged his wounds, took him to an inn, and paid the innkeeper to nurse him back to health.

In today’s troubled world, most of us seem to be highly focused on serving ourselves, not others. “Entitlement,” we call it. Even among people in the body of Christ, we rarely appear inclined to help a needy stranger along life’s road.

Jesus taught in Mark 9:35, “If anyone wants to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.” Still today in my mind, I imagine Jesus was thinking of his servant Mike in the 2000s — and a family stranded on Highway 461.

It is a rich experience to run across someone like Mike, especially when we’re on the receiving end. For me, his example is a clarion challenge. I want to be – I need to be – more like Mike.

*Names have been changed for privacy.

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