"And the king will say to them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of My family, you did it to Me" (Matthew 25:40).
I live in the country but quite close to the city. I have to drive to town to shop and go to church. And as soon as I get there, I feel the difference. In the city, I feel lost. I feel like a speck among thousands of specks, unnoticed by the crowds that pass by. Before I lived on the edge of a big city, I came from a tiny town up north, where people looked you in the eye, said hello, or stopped you in the street to talk awhile. They still do that in the town where I live.
If your car broke down at the side of the road, a man would always stop and help you out. I'm sure I never waited for more than 5 minutes. I felt like I was part of a community. People knew me. I knew them. And we were neighbors. But I don't feel that in the city. I feel like people look right through me and ignore who I am. Why are we so afraid to come close to one another?
My Dad has been caring for my mother for several years. Because of a stroke, she suffers from severe dementia. She has forgotten who we are, even though she knows she had children. She has become a little child in her mind, carrying dolls and speaking gibberish. My Dad and Mom are housebound because of her dementia. They can't go to church anymore. The only outing my father has is when he goes to buy groceries. My oldest sister lives nearby and visits them faithfully. But otherwise, they have very few visitors. My Dad feels abandoned by his church because no one calls. No one visits them. He feels utterly alone. He recently told me how it felt. He said, "I know what it's like to be a leper in Bible times." He knows how lonely they must have been.
People like my Dad are like the man who was robbed on his way to Jericho. He "fell among thieves , who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead" (Luke 10:30). He lay there on the side of the road, unnoticed or neglected. He wasn't hidden from view. People saw him there. A priest and a Levite passed by. They saw what needed to be done but they didn't want to get involved. So they "passed by on the other side" (Luke 10:31). It sounds like they went out of their way to do nothing.
But then the Samaritan saw him. And his heart was touched by the suffering he saw. He came close to the bleeding man and had compassion for him. That compassion was more than a feeling. It was something he did. The Bible says, "he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him" (Luke 10:34). I have spent a lot of time thinking about that Samaritan and the Living Way. And I keep coming back to those words, "he went to him."
I tend to think that this Samaritan had somewhere to go. Perhaps, he was a businessman with appointments to keep in Jericho or Jerusalem. He probably had a family who was waiting for him to come home. But the Samaritan stopped. He went to where this wounded man was lying in a pool of blood and he did everything he could to help him. He went to him.
Too often we wait for people to come to us before we lift a finger. We're so afraid to take the first step towards them. We rarely venture out of our comfort zones to talk with our neighbors, to knock on a door, or even say hello to someone new at church. We pass by on the other side like the priest or the Levite when Jesus needs us to go to him or go to her. We become robbers too, because we rob them of the compassion they need to be healed. We rob them by withholding God's love.
But not the Samaritan. Even though he didn't understand everything about God, he knew Him. For the kindness and compassion in the Samaritan came from the heart of God. Our Savior shows the same kind of love for you and me. "When we were bruised and dying He had pity on us. He did not pass by on the other side, and leave us, helpless and hopeless, to perish. He did not remain in His holy, happy home, where He was beloved by all the heavenly host. He beheld our sore need, He undertook our case, and identified His interests with those of humanity. He died to save His enemies. He prayed for His murderers. Pointing to His own example, He says to His followers, "These things I command you, that ye love one another," "as I have loved you, that ye also love one another." John 15:17, 13:34" (Christ's Object Lessons, pg. 382).
Do we show such tenderness to the suffering all around us? Have we forgotten what Jesus has done for us? Or have we experienced His compassion ourselves? I can't imagine that the man who was rescued by the good Samaritan had anything but love and gratefulness pouring through his heart. I can't imagine that if he saw someone in the same condition that he'd been in that he'd pass by to the other side. When we've been touched by God's love or by His tender care, we are so full of that love that we pass it on. We see in every man and woman--and even every boy and girl--a picture of our Lord Jesus. A child for whom He died. A child like us who needs to be touched. To be touched personally by the love of God!
This story speaks to our need to reach out to the lost, to people who don't know the Living Way to Christ. But it embraces even more. It means reaching out to the broken ones in our families or churches. There are many who are bleeding at the side of the road who need compassionate care. Yes, they need your prayers, but even more, they need to hear from your lips that you're praying for them! They need someone to stop by and visit. Can you take time to listen to their hurting heart? Can you show by the tone of your voice or the touch of your hand that you care? Truly care? That you're not just speaking words you don't really mean?
What was missing in the heart of the priest and Levite that they couldn't show compassion? Why couldn't they stop long enough to help this man in his suffering? What made the difference between them and the giving Samaritan? It's not such a tough question to answer if you look at the way these 3 men responded. Only one demonstrated love in action. The priest and the Levite might have known more about God than the Samaritan, but I think he was the only one who knew God!
For "whatever the profession, no man has pure love to God unless he has unselfish love for his brother. But we can never come into possession of this spirit by trying to love others. What is needed is the love of Christ in the heart. When self is merged in Christ, love springs forth spontaneously. The completeness of Christian character is attained when the impulse to help and bless others springs constantly from within" (Christ's Object Lessons, pg. 385).
The inner work of grace is what's lacking. We can't give love with no strings attached unless we know God. Our hearts are just naturally selfish. We put ourselves first before anyone else. We care more about being saved and going to heaven than someone else being saved. We want to be forgiven. We want God to answer our prayers. But that's all about me, isn't it? And it will always be about me unless the love of God is planted in my heart and I am supernaturally changed by His love.
You see, God's love will make me like Jesus. His character will become mine. The same love Christ had will be the love that I have. The same kindness that Jesus showed--even to lepers and Samaritans--will be the kindness I show, especially toward those who are suffering. The character of Jesus will be reproduced in how I reach out to those who need God. And it will be as natural for me to help the needy and suffering as it was for Jesus who went about doing good. He will open my eyes to see who is bleeding on the side of the road. And I'll go to him or I'll go to her with the same compassion that Jesus shows to me.
And then they'll see Jesus. They'll feel the touch of His hand. This world is crying for the lack of that personal touch. But we can be the ones who will hear their cry and wipe away their tears. We can be the ones to cross the road and lift the burden from their weary shoulders. If we know the love of God, we can be the one to pass it on. It's so much better than passing by on the other side.
Cross over the road, my friend.
Ask the Lord His strength to lend.
His compassion has no end.
Cross over the road.
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