4a Love is patient and kind;
What does it mean that love is kind? Love is useful, helpful, always looking for an opportunity to do good. Perhaps one good example of how this is lived out is in the story of the "good" samaritan. (Luke 10:25-37)
Jesus was being questioned by a lawyer who was trying to trick Him or make Him say something contrary to the law of Moses. "Teacher, what shall I do to ineherit eternal life?" Jesus responded by asking him about his interpretation, first, to which he replied with what we would call the summary of the moral law, "You shall 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 your neighbor as yourself." Jesus told the man that he answered correctly and admonished him to live according to what he, himself had said. But this man wanting to justify his own actions asked Jesus to explain to him who his neighbor really is. Jesus responded by telling the story of the "good" samaritan.
"A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, 'Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.' Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?" He said, "The one who showed him mercy." And Jesus said to him, "You go, and do likewise."
Although the word Paul uses for kindness and the words used by Jesus in this story are not the same Greek words, we could argue that the spirit of kindness and mercy are very akin to one another. In the OT, God's kindness is often seen while also speaking of His mercy. Twice in Isaiah chapter 54 are the two put together. In verse 8, Isaiah says "...But with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you," and again in verse 10, "For the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed, but My kindness shall not depart from you, nor shall My covenant of peace be removed, says the Lord who has mercy on you." (NKJV) Jesus above says that the Samaritan had compassion on the man he saw left for dead on the side of the road. We could render it that he had tender mercies for the man. Paul uses the same word when speaking of how Christians should relate to one another by putting on tender mercies towards one another, as well as kindness, humility, meekness, and longsuffering. (Col 3:12-13, NKJV) His tender mercy towards this man was the initial beginning of their brief encounter, but it is what he does next that puts action to his emotion.
It is all too easy to feel compassion or tender mercy for someone in great need. The priest and the levite could have felt compassion for the man, but they did not do anything for him. However, love is an action that should follow tender mercy or compassion, and the action showed by the Samaritan is best described as kindness. He bound his wounds, set him on his own donkey, took him to a place where he could be cared for, and paid for his care from his own pocket.
Jesus asked His inquisitor, who wanted to be justified in himself, which one of these three proved to be a neighbor to this bruised and beaten man? If Jesus asked you the same question, what would you say? Have you ever been in a position to have mercy and show kindness to someone but did not render assistance? We can be certain that perhaps this young lawyer had a similar situation in which he did not assist, because Jesus never gave object lessons like this without bringing much conviction upon those who were just trying to make themselves look good. Perhaps this man was the levite in the story. We cannot know for sure. But what we can know for sure is that this man went away now knowing who his neighbor is, and that he was not justified in the sight of God by his own keeping of the law.
As men, we need to be helpful, useful, ready to render assistance. We need to be ready to act on feelings of compassion. We should never brush them away or try to ignore or suppress compassion. Rather we should cultivate compassion. It is very contrary to our nature to have compassion, but if we would be like our Savior, who had great compassion and tender mercy towards us, then we must have the same toward our fellow man, especially towards those in the household of faith. (Gal 6:10)
Assignment:
1. Continue to work on memorization of 1 Corinthians 13.
2. Memorize Col 3:12-13 in the New King James Version.
3. Journal about times in which you have shown compassion. If you can remember a time when you did not show kindness when you should have, write about that as well.
4. Jot down some ways that you could show more kindness to the people closest to you.
