Compassion That Leads to Action
“‘Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?’” (Luke 10:36 NIV)
It’s so easy to be religious and not have a heart for people. We see
this clearly in the parable of the Good Samaritan. [The priest //who
passed by the man //who had been robbed and left on the side of the road ]
knew all of the theology and was well versed in the Law of Moses, but
when it came to helping someone, he went on the other side of the road.
The Levite— also a religious person—checked out the situation and
probably figured it wasn’t his problem
and that his tight schedule
wouldn’t permit him to take any more time.
After all, he didn’t even know the person. He couldn’t interrupt his plans just like that, especially for a stranger. “No,” he probably thought, “let somebody else help him.”
Enter the main character of our story: the Good Samaritan. The noun
“Samaritan” has come to mean a decent human being //who is willing to help
others, but that isn’t what it meant in Jesus’ day.
The Samaritans
were so despised that when Jews had to go from Galilee to Judea, they
preferred to take a longer route and go around Samaria /rather than
through it. Nevertheless, it was this despised Samaritan //who tended /to
the man’s needs, and then went above and beyond what anyone would expect
to make sure that the man was looked after /until he was well.
* tend ; 2. To apply one's attention; attend: 시중들다 1. To have a tendency:경향이 있다
* To look after someone is to keep an eye on or watch them. 보살피다
[What’s special about this story] is that the Samaritan got involved in
someone else’s life—and that “someone” was neither a friend nor a family
member. Even unbelievers take care of their own, but it takes someone
full of the love of God to minister to a stranger /from whom they expect
nothing in return.
* take care of somebody/something: to look after someone or something:
How does this relate to us? In today’s society, we see all kinds of
people //who—like the victim in the parable—are half dead. They may be
walking around, but they are wounded, with no life in them.
As
Christians, we may feel bad for them but also reluctant to get involved,
thinking, “If I start to help,
where will it end? There could be
unintended consequences.”
The Good Samaritan didn’t think about any of
that.
[What made him reach out] was the fact that he was moved with
mercy.
It doesn’t matter whether you sing in the choir or have written a
Christian book; unless God comes in and starts to move your heart with
his love, it’s impossible to not only put yourself in someone else’s
shoes, but also to do something to help the person in his or her
plight—by offering an encouraging word, a monetary gift, a prayer of
intercession, or a labor of love.
* come in ; join or become involved in an enterprise.
It could be that [the person /needing help] has ended up /in bad shape as a
result of his or her own actions.
Perhaps the robbery victim in the
parable shouldn’t have traveled alone on the lonely stretch from
Jerusalem to Jericho but had done it anyway.
The priest and the Levite
might have justified their lack of involvement by saying, “The guy was
stupid and got what he deserved.” Thankfully, that’s not how God has
dealt with us, and that’s not how we are to deal with others.
* deal with sth : 1. to take action in order to achieve something or in order to solve a problem 상대하다
Remember: the Good Samaritan didn’t save the world; he saved one
person!
And we can do the same by the power of the Holy Spirit /as we
follow in the footsteps of Jesus.
Read Luke 10:25-37.