Kindness – Kindness That Accepts Interruptions (365/207)
- 17 hours ago
- 2 min read
We live surrounded by needs we cannot possibly meet. It is easy to see, feel something, and keep moving. Jesus tells a story about someone who did the opposite.
“But a Samaritan on his journey came up to him, and when he saw the man, he had compassion.” (Luke 10:33)
The Bible says in Luke 10 that the priest and the Levite saw the wounded man. Yet both passed by on the other side (v31-32). The Samaritan, however, allowed kindness to interrupt his journey. He stopped, treated the man's wounds, placed him on his own animal, took him to an inn and cared for him. He even paid for his continuing care (v33-35). The Samaritan’s kindness cost him time, resources, comfort and convenience - and required him to cross a deep ethnic and social divide. Yet he saw neither an enemy nor an inconvenience, but a human being in need.
God does not merely observe human suffering from a distance. He draws near to the broken and acts in mercy (Psalm 145:8-9). In Jesus, God's compassion becomes visible. Christ saw the crowds and had compassion on them (Matthew 9:36); He did not remain an observer of our need but entered our broken world to rescue us. Jesus' command is simple: “Go and do the same” (Luke 10:37).
Pause and Ponder
What need have I noticed but repeatedly chosen to walk past?
What might kindness require me to interrupt, sacrifice or rearrange today?
Is there someone I instinctively see as an inconvenience, outsider or enemy whom Jesus is asking me to see differently?
Christlike kindness moves us from being observers to participants.
Lord, when another's need interrupts my plans, help me respond as Jesus would - with mercy, generosity and action. Amen.
Extended Reading: Luke 10:25-37
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