The Lord is compassionate towards all that He has made and Jesus was compassionate towards others. Similarly, God calls us to be compassionate towards people.
Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. So 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. On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’ So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?” And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.” Luke 10:30-37
Definition of Compassion (According to Strong’s Concordance): to love, love deeply, have mercy, be compassionate, have tender affection, have compassion.
Compassion makes us feel something deep inside of us for others. There is a tender affection that moves us into action. It takes us out of the routine of responsibility and obligation and allows our spirit man and soul to come alive by feeling something for others.
The Good Samaritan story shows that compassion overcame prejudice and hatred. The Samaritan man helped someone whom he could have considered his enemy. From a spiritual standpoint, the priest and the Levite should have reached out to him, but they were too busy fulfilling their obligations that they had no time or heart for this man. On the other hand, no one would have expected the Samaritan to help due to the racial and cultural differences.
Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. John 4:9
The woman at the well was surprised with Jesus talking to her because the Jewish people did not interact with Samaritans. The Jewish people looked down up the Samaritans because of intermarriage that made them a mixture of races. The Assyrian kings tried to breakdown ethnic distinctions and loyalty towards a particular race during the time when they had the Jewish people under their captivity (See 2Kings 17:24). The Jewish people considered themselves as genuine article and God’s chosen people.
The truth is that man in his nature may have a long list of criteria for the acceptable type of people that he/she wants to associate with. Generally, those factors are tied to external factors such as race, education, socioeconomic status, etc. This causes our heart to be open and compassionate only towards those that we consider worthy or that we prefer to receive help from. However, when a person falls on hard times, those issues suddenly become immaterial and one appreciates whoever helps them.
Jesus shared the Good Samaritan story to show that we are more vulnerable than we think we are, and God can use unlikely individuals to show us compassion. Pride rejects, neglects, and discriminates, but compassion heals, cares, and develops community. Loving our neighbor would be evident by our acts of love, compassion, and generosity. Having a heart of compassion softens our hearts and allows the life of God to fill us with love and tenderness towards others again. Let’s embrace compassion and pray that the Lord would increase it in our lives!
