“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
Luke 10:36-37 NIV
Something I used to hear quite a bit growing up, especially from my grandmother, was the phrase, “Now don’t get all riled up about it.” I guess it is a Midwestern slang because I don’t hear it too much here in Florida. I’m the type of person that I don’t get riled up too easily. I haven’t decided whether that is a blessing or a curse. But I do have my moments. Moments that my wife would be happy to relate.
Are there pressing or significant things that get you riled up? What as Christians should we get riled up about? Compassion for others should be one. When we talk about compassion, it really has two elements to it. The dictionary definition of compassion says that it is a deep awareness of the suffering of another coupled with the wish to relieve it. But the other component of compassion is that it does something to relieve that pain, that suffering – it does something to provide for that need.
The Story of The Good Samaritan is one that most of us are familiar with. Two deeply religious men passed by a man on the road who had been attacked by robbers and left for dead. Yet a Samaritan, a person who was despised by the Jews, came upon the man and ministered to him. He bandaged his wounds and took him to an inn, where he could be taken care of, paying for all expenses out of his pocket. The Samaritan saw the man who had been beaten by the robbers, and “was moved to compassion” – a compassion that led to action.
The word compassion comes from the Latin and it literally means “to suffer with.” Compassion is truly being with someone, empathizing, suffering with, even if that just means sitting and listening. Isn’t that what Jesus Himself wanted on the night before he was taken away to die on the cross, when he was in the Garden of Gethsemane? He just wanted the disciples to be with Him.
What would it take to rile us up to the point that we as individuals respond in compassion to help relieve the pain of others who are struggling? What would it take for us to rile us up to the point that we can be seen as someone who has compassion enough that one could come to us to share their pain and hurts? And what would it take to “rile us up” enough for us to act, when we see someone who is struggling, so that we can be a channel of God’s grace and love?
For it is only through the grace and love of Jesus Christ, that one can find the healing, sustaining, comfort, hope, reconciliation and salvation that we all need in life so that we indeed can live the abundant life that Christ came to offer us.
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