Column: Living Out of the Compassion of God

drew-williams-fi

By Drew Williams

When the lawyer addressed Jesus and asked, “Who is my neighbor?” (Luke 10:29) what he was really asking was “Who can I strike off the list of people I am supposed to love as I would love myself?” And so, Jesus exposes the hardness of this man’s heart with a story that we have come to know well. In it, a Jewish man traveling on foot “from Jerusalem to Jericho, fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and left him half dead.” (verse 30b). By chance, two holy men (a priest and a Levite) saw him but each ignored his plight. In fact, Jesus adds the detail that they “passed by on the other side” (verse 31b). It is a Samaritan (considered by the Jews to be social outcasts) who “came to where the man was, and when he saw him, had compassion” (verse 33). It is the Samaritan who attended to his wounds, got him to an inn where he could rest, took care of him there and even spent his own money to have the innkeeper continue to watch over him.

The Samaritan, of all people, exhibited a type of compassion that God really likes. Tim Keller writes, “We instinctively tend to limit for whom we exert ourselves. We do it for people like us, and for people whom we like. Jesus will have none of that. By depicting a Samaritan helping a Jew, Jesus could not have found a more forceful way to say that anyone at all in need – regardless of race, politics, class, and religion – is your neighbor. Not everyone is your brother or sister in faith, but everyone is your neighbor…”

When Jesus asked, “Which of these three men, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” (verse 36), the lawyer was so irritated by this that he could not even bring himself to say the word “Samaritan” but, perhaps between gritted teeth, responded, “The one who showed him mercy.” (verse 37). The lawyer knew the law but what he was missing was the heart of the law which was Godly compassion. Jesus’ account of the good Samaritan gives us three dimensions of how to live out of Godly compassion:

1. Unlike the lawyer, the Samaritan knew God’s heart.

Very simply, even before he set out that day, the Samaritan was “heart-wired” to respond. Why? Because although the lawyer could quote the law, the Samaritan knew the heart of God. He knew God’s heart for the oppressed. It is written in Isaiah: “Is not this the fast that I [the Lord] choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him…” (Isaiah 58:6-7a). God is deeply concerned for those on the margins of society, those whose brokenness, lack of power and voice make them extraordinarily vulnerable. The Samaritan knew that he was invited to be part of God’s solution.

That is the heart of God. He is deeply passionate about the plight of the oppressed, the poor and the broken. And His people have always been His solution to the suffering of the world’s vulnerable. As we look out onto a wounded and hurting world and wonder where on earth we should start and wonder “just who is my neighbor?,” this heart knowledge should give us courage. We never have to wonder whether God is “in” with regard to the oppressed. We can know that He is deeply concerned and already present. And if He is there, then we can have the courage to join Him. The Samaritan exhibited courage in stopping at the roadside. It could have been a trap, which was very common in those days. A deep knowledge of God’s heart gave him the courage to step into the man’s predicament.

Knowledge of God’s heart for the poor and the oppressed should give us courage and that courage will bring into focus very quickly who our “neighbor” is. But how do we know what to do next?

2. Unlike the lawyer, the Samaritan allowed the pain of another person to touch him.

The lawyer was seeking to insulate himself. Was he seeking a narrow definition of “neighbor,” akin to the example of the Levite and priest in the story, despite the clear message in Isaiah “…when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh and blood?” (Isaiah 58:7b)?

The Samaritan allowed the pain of the injured man to touch him. The Samaritan put himself in the man’s shoes and this produced a compassion that had real humility, a humility to appreciate that this really could have been him lying alone on the side of the road.

Compassionate humility will move us away from judgment (“It was his own fault!”) and into real discernment. The humility the Samaritan exhibited in taking action enabled him to make a full Spirit-led response. He could have tossed the injured man a few coins and hoped it worked out for him. Perhaps that might have made him feel magnanimous? Instead, in humility, out of a deep empathy and responding to the man’s need, he personally attended to the wounds. He took him out of immediate danger to a safe place where he could recuperate. He went even further by ensuring that the man’s costs were met. This was a generous and whole-hearted plan – just like the heart of God. Martin Luther King Jr wrote, “On the parable of the Good Samaritan: “I imagine that the first question the priest and Levite asked was: ‘If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?’ But by the very nature of his concern, the good Samaritan reversed the question: ‘If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?”

Godly compassion is about knowing God’s heart and discovering the courage to step up because God is already there, opening our hearts to the pain of another person and finding the humility to discern the next right step. Godly compassion is also about embracing life in all its fullness.

3. Unlike the lawyer, the Samaritan embraced the fullness of life.

Based on the findings of a study at the University of North Carolina,  one writer concluded, “Human beings appear to be genetically engineered to be happiest and healthiest when we spend a lot of time selflessly helping others—and unhealthy when we’re mostly devoted to self-gratification.”1  Jesus said if you “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind” (which means taking on His heart for the poor and oppressed) and love “your neighbor as yourself,” then “you will live” (Luke 10:27-28). The word Jesus chose is Zoe – life in all its fullness, life that is Kingdom life. This is the life in abundance that Jesus promised us.

And all of this is exactly what God has promised us. The prophet Isaiah wrote, “…if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.” (Isaiah 58:10-11).

This is not some sort “quid pro quo” deal. This is God beckoning us to experience His profound love for us and for the vulnerable of this world. This is a call to intimacy with God — to walk so closely with Him that we need never fear again. This is about stepping into the river of His love and knowing that it flows through us and that we are alive! There is no greater joy. There is no greater love. In the words of St. Augustine, “What does love look like? It has the hands to help others. It has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy. It has eyes to see misery and want. It has the ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men. That is what love looks like.”

(1) Source: http://www.antarcticajournal.com/a-genetic-guide-to-happiness

Related Posts
Loading...