A Samaritan's Need for Compassion

"But a certain Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion" (Luke 10:33)

We discovered together in last week's devotional, beloved, that watchfulness in our Christian walk is so very important. Still as we read this wonderful parable of Jesus, it occurs to us that both the priest and the Levite were also "watchful." They had both seen the wounded traveler as they hurried along in pursuit of their own interests. So what set the Samaritan apart from the two of them was that not only had he seen the robbers' victim, but that he had also "felt compassion" for him. It is certainly one thing to see the needs of those around us, beloved, but it is quite another for us to care enough to do something about them.

But what was it that made the Samaritan so different than those who had passed by before him? Much has been written and spoken about the callousness of the priest and the religious narrow-mindedness of the Levite, certainly both observations of human nature that are true. But I do not personally believe that the Samaritan had compassion on the wounded man simply because he was a "better" human being. Recall with me for a moment just what it meant to be a "Samaritan" in Jesus' day. Born of both Jewish and Gentile blood, the Samaritans were a hated people-group, rejected by Hebrews because they had pagan blood and by the Gentiles because they had Jewish blood. They were a people despised and rejected by everyone! Certainly as he came upon the wounded traveler that day, the Samaritan's heart went out to him. He and his people had long been thrown aside and left as useless. Something in his heart reached out to one whom he found to be a man not unlike himself.

How are we as Christians like the Samaritan in Jesus' parable, beloved? How do we relate to his attitude and his actions in ministering to one so unfortunate and in need? We do so by remembering that we are all born into sin, lost to the goodness of God and condemned to an eternity without Him. We recall that as sinners we have no hope in and of ourselves of every changing our true condition before God. We recall that if not for the love and mercy of God Himself in the person of Jesus Christ, we would this very day still be in our sins and headed for an eternity of torment apart from the love and mercy of God. We keep ever fresh in our minds the fact that the love of God in Christ has touched us by grace, unworthy though we will ever be, and that we have been adopted into the family of God, that we are eternally loved and accepted "in the Beloved" (Ephesians 1:6). And when we in life come across those "wounded" ones to whom the Spirit of God may lead us, the realization of our own "fallenness" will cause God's love in us to well up and reach out to help. It will be because we are spiritual "Samaritans" that we will love others enough to bring them to the Savior, beloved. As a bumper sticker from some years ago stated so eloquently: "Christians aren't perfect, only forgiven."

To truly care should be the easiest task for a genuine believer, beloved. As we walk through this life in watchfulness, our hearts will reach out to those whom we encounter, ministering to them the love of God in Jesus' name because of His shed blood. To do less leaves us...well, in company with the priest and Levite. Enough said.

Ron