PODCAST
Source of Compassion
October 26th, 2014
Psalm 145:1-21
When a teacher of the Law asked Jesus how he could inherit eternal life, Jesus asked him what was written in the Law. The lawyer responded, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’” (Luke 10:27). Jesus told him that if he made loving God and loving neighbor his lifestyle, he would live. The attorney retorted, “And who is my neighbor?” The Lord responded by telling the story of an immigrant who treated a wounded Israelite with practical compassion. The lawyer affirmed that the immigrant was the “good neighbor,” and again the Lord instructed him to make that kind of compassion his lifestyle.
Once, when my brother’s family was visiting and went to church with us, a drifter showed up and my brother invited him to our home for lunch. The young man took half the meat intended for eight people and loaded his plate with food. Later, my wife also packed a bag of goodies for him. We have never seen him again, but that Sunday, my brother and my wife incarnated the compassion that flows from God’s heart.
Author: Jerry D. Porter
