Daily Devotional #1,613

Jesus told a story about a Jewish man who was traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho. At that time that 20 mile  journey that dropped 3600 feet in elevation was called “the Bloody Way”. There were so many thieves who  waited for a vulnerable traveler to rob and even kill. We know the story as “the Good Samaritan”. The Jewish  man is robbed and beaten badly and left on the side of the road. The thief saw the traveler as an idiot for  traveling alone. There were two religious people who came along after the attack and saw the man. A priest  walked to the other side of the road and passed him by. A temple assistant from Jerusalem later saw the man  and also passed by on the other side of the road. He was just a bother to them. But then a Samaritan came  down the road. Samaritans and Jews were traditional enemies. The groups hated each other. But in the story  Jesus says, “Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him.” He  stopped, cared for the man and then took him to a place where he could recover. He left money with the  innkeeper and told him if it cost more, he would make up the difference the next time he passed this way. How  do you teach compassion? How do you instill empathy in those who surround themselves with a barricade of  hate? I wonder if we are all are really one of those who hurt or considered the Jewish traveler a bother or threat  to our world. Real compassion and love like we see in this story is beyond us, but not beyond God. The Bible  says that God put these words into the mouth of the prophet Ezekiel… Eze 36:26 NLT And I will give you a  new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender,  responsive heart. That’s what this Jesus of the Bible does for us. We all need a heart transplant…and the Bible  says that this Jesus can and will do that when we come in humility and brokenness and repentance to him. And  only then will we be able to do like that Samaritan did in that story…and feel compassion for those the world  tells we should hate. Here’s our Bible verse for today…  
Luke 10:33 NLT “Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for  him.”  
Remember I’m praying for you!  
With love, PJ