Our Daily Bread: Lead Like the ShepherdSýnishorn

When Compassion Wins

Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. -Luke 10:33

Ashanti was concerned for a stranger on Chicago’s Red Line elevated train. “Can I pray for you?” he asked. The fellow commuter’s sunglasses couldn’t cover her distress. Though Ashanti was rushing to a scheduled meeting, the tug in his heart to respond to the person before him was stronger.

At the end of his prayer, the woman responded, “I’m an atheist.” But she also expressed that Ashanti’s compassion had caused her to ponder her unbelief.

Have you had to choose between taking the path of least resistance or stretching yourself to do the uncomfortable but right thing?

You’re not alone.

The story that Jesus told in Luke 10:29–37 compels us to rethink our fears, prejudices, and complacencies.

We don’t know how the Samaritan in Jesus’ story processed his decision to help the presumed Jewish traveler who’d fallen into the hands of thieves and robbers (v. 30). What we do know is that those who had the reputation for being the “good guys” passed up the opportunity to help one who desperately needed it.

Compassion came through one who for centuries had been considered an ethnic and religious outsider (see John 4:1-9). “Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him” (Luke 10:33).

When compassion wins, everybody wins—givers and receivers. As we lead others, let’s move forward in compassion and model our Savior’s love and care.

Arthur Jackson

What are some things you allow to get in the way of showing compassion to those you lead? What happens when compassion wins?

Father, please help me to seize the opportunities You give me to show compassion—for the good of others, for my own soul, and for Your honor.