But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion…
Luke 10:33
It always amazes me how compassion seems to be a driving force in any part of ministry. Even more amazing is how often it is lacking in so many of us. God invites all of us to take part in his work to reach others. Unfortunately, most of the time we don’t care.
Maybe you know what I’m talking about. Have there been times when you have seen a need that someone had and you just couldn’t be bothered to get up and help? Apathy (not caring) is the opposite of having compassion.
Compassion has been defined as feeling a deep sympathy towards someone when they are in need. I think the Bible takes it a step further. Consider these three key examples from the New Testament of someone having compassion: Jesus feeding the 5000 (John 6:1-14), the father in the Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32) and the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37). Jesus, the father and the Samaritan all felt compassion, but their compassion was accompanied by action.
In the Parable of the Good Samaritan, a man was beaten and left half-dead by the side of the road. A priest and a Levite were the first to pass by. These would be the pastors of that day. They did what any of us would have done. They didn’t stop. Why? Because it was inconvenient and unsafe! Bandits could have been waiting for them. They were afraid of what might happen to them. But the Samaritan who came was not motivated by apathy or fear. He was motivated by love.
We are used to thinking of ourselves as the main character of our life’s story. We look at others and try to justify why we shouldn’t help them. But don’t miss this: I don’t think the beaten man was a character in the Good Samaritan’s story. Rather, the Samaritan was a supporting character in the beaten man’s story. God is moving each of us in and out of other people’s stories. It is time we stop justifying why not to act and instead take a step of love.
FOR THOUGHT
- Come up with a list of three ways that you can show the love of God to someone, even someone you don't know or someone very different from you.
- Pray now and ask God to place you in people’s lives to share his love with them. Keep your eyes open for the ways he may be calling you to play a supporting role in the stories of others.