By Chris WittsWednesday 7 Aug 2024Morning Devotions with Chris WittsFaithReading Time: 1 minute
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Transcript:
In Part 1, I was talking about this idea of helping people who are hurting. And I said that Jesus was the just the Master of this. Jesus’ ministry was centred on helping hurting people. And when he saw people, he was quick to discern their hurts and helplessness.
What do you see when you look at people? Do you look at the outer person only (the hair, the face, the clothes, etc.) or are you quick to perceive they’ve got a problem of some sort?
Jesus is the greatest example of all when it comes to compassion and sympathy. We need to follow in his compassionate steps! Jesus told a remarkable story that we can read in Luke 10:30-32:
A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.
The sad thing about this story was that the priest and the Levite were religious leaders who were supposed to care—but they didn’t. They were too busy.
The good samaritan
And thinking about that in life, there are many people who ‘pass by on the other side’ for one reason or another. They have business, etc. They see but never see. They see everything else except what’s important.
But the Bible story continues; we read in Luke 10:33-37:
But a Samaritan [these were people that were despised], as he travelled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey,… took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. ’Look after him,’ he said, ’and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
Which of these three do you think was a neighbour 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.’
Jesus told him, ‘Go and do likewise.’
We all know the story about the Good Samaritan. The stranger, the foreigner and the one man who saw the helpless, hurting man and compassionately helped him. He even went far beyond what most of us would do. He not only gave the man his time, but also his money. And when you’re talking money, you’re saying a whole lot.
We also can do something
Bill Gates, of course, head of Microsoft, is worth they say 48 billion dollars; he also gives away something like 27 billion dollars through the Bill and Linda Gates Foundation to help other people. But there are rich people, not only the Gates, there are other rich people in the world. What do they do?
So, we could do something. We may not have that sort of money—I’m sure we don’t have that sort of money. But there’s something to think about: What is the area that I’m prepared to do? Why don’t we give money to help hurting people? We certainly look after ourselves.
The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 8:9 (CEV), “You know that our Lord Jesus Christ was kind enough to give up all his riches and become poor so that you could become rich.” I’m not talking about money here, of course.
Love comes from God, and when we love each other, it shows we that we have been given new life.
But there are other things you could do. Visiting people, phoning them, email, a card, a prayer—something that’s simple. Often, you know, that is the greatest thing—to help people who are hurting. The Bible says in 1 John 4:7 (CEV), “We must love each other. Love comes from God, and when we love each other, it shows we that we have been given new life. We are now God’s children”. It’s all about being touched by God, God’s will.
Well, there are lots of things we can say about this. And I just want to say that I think we all need to experience the touch of God so that we can, when the circumstances arrive, help that person. And when it does happen—it may not happen every day, but when it does happen—and you reach out to someone, it is going, of course, to make a big difference to that person’s life and the way that other people will treat them.
So if God touches your life, you can reach out to others in love. Loving others comes from a loving God.