ICS Daily Devotions
Compassion for the Wounded
Luke 10:30,33-35 (NKJV) Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead….But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’
While we may not always meet people who are wounded in an accident, injured during a robbery, or beaten up by people, there are many who are going through different kinds of suffering around us.
Because we live in a broken world, everyone will go through challenges, difficulties or tribulations at some point, and nobody will be spared. Every person or family will have their own challenges if we are honest with ourselves. Therefore, instead of being judgemental, we need to learn to be gracious, kind, and gentle to those who are suffering.
We may know of people who have been made redundant recently, suffering from depression, cancer, or other forms of chronic or terminal illnesses, the loss of a loved one, going through divorce, children whose parents are going through a difficult period, youth or young adults going through identity crises etc. These are the people who have been left to suffer on their own just like the man who was robbed, injured, and left half dead in this passage. They are alone! Perhaps some of them would rather be left alone, but deep down, they know that they need help even though some might feel shy in reaching out or reluctant to share their struggles. We should pray for those who want to be left alone and reach out to them at the right time, and meanwhile extend a listening ear to those who are open.
Romans 12:15 (NKJV) Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.
We will be able to truly care for those who are suffering when we are able to identify with them, but we don’t need to go through all the tribulations in life to do that. All we need is compassion. We have the compassion of God in our hearts because the Holy Spirit lives in us, and He will nudge us to reach out to those who are suffering because God ministers and cares for the people through His body. When we allow the compassion to flow out of our hearts, that is when we can weep with those who weep and rejoice with them when breakthrough comes.
Sermon Series: Help! Go and Do Likewise
