The Parable of the Good Country Bloke

10 August 2025

By Pastor John Macindoe - Senior Pastor

The first two nights of my recent break were spent in a cottage about 3km outside the little town of Comboyne. Both mornings, I woke early and went for a walk past farms and fences and not much else.

At times the road edge was narrow. But it didn’t matter. Hardly any cars went by, and I could hear them coming from miles away.

On the first morning, with soft rain drizzling down, I was walking up a hill about 5km out of town, when I heard a rough sounding car approach from behind. I stepped to the side as a beat-up old Toyota with an aluminium tray top stopped just ahead of me. Some kind soul was offering a lift. I walked to the passenger’s side to see a rough country bloke with a huge beard on the driver’s side and a cattle dog doing donuts, barking in excitement, on the passenger seat.

I gave him the thumbs up. Told him I was out walking. He gave me the thumbs up and went on his way. I was touched. Someone cared enough to offer me a lift. They were willing to sacrifice their time and money to make my life easier.

I couldn’t help thinking of the ‘Parable of the Good Samaritan’. Other cars passed me that morning: fancy new Range Rovers, sleek Mercedes’, recent model tradie utes decked out with all the gear. Not one of them stopped. They were in a hurry. They had important things to do. And let’s face it, if I was driving that morning, I wouldn’t have stopped either. The only person who stopped was a humble country gent who, on external appearances, the world wouldn’t have thought much of.

It's no surprise. That’s just the way the world works. But I was challenged. As a disciple of Jesus am I prepared to slow down, cross barriers of expectation, and sacrifice my time and money to offer help to those who look as though they are in need? Will you? Or are we too busy protecting our comfort, security, and sense of self-importance as we drive past in our fancy new Range Rovers?