Listen

Jesus replied, “A man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. He encountered thieves, who stripped him naked, beat him up, and left him near death. Now it just so happened that a priest was also going down the same road. When he saw the injured man, he crossed over to the other side of the road and went on his way. Likewise, a Levite came by that spot, saw the injured man, and crossed over to the other side of the road and went on his way. A Samaritan, who was on a journey, came to where the man was. But when he saw him, he was moved with compassion.”

Luke 10:30-33

Think

Love can change everything. We know that in our heads, but do we follow through in the middle of tough times? The man on the side of the road stayed there long enough for two holy men to pass by and not help. Then the Samaritan had compassion. Compassion means to feel with someone and to understand (or try to understand) someone else’s pain.

Have you ever had a time that others have reached out to express compassion when you were hurting? Think about that time or a time that this has happened to someone you know. What do you remember most about that moment? Did you have the feeling that you were shown love in that one moment?

We have the opportunity to show the love of God every day in the smallest of ways that have the biggest impact. In this part of the story, what act of love did the Samaritan show? He stopped and noticed that the injured and penniless man was there. He showed that he felt for this man’s pain.

Stephanie Vance

Pray

God, help me to see those that are hurting around me and help me to show them your love and compassion. Amen.

Go

God loves us. Not because of or in spite of anything. There is no qualifier to God’s love.

God asks us to love the same way.

Go and love today and always!