You know it is time once again to collect your information about
taxes, don't you? The story of the Good Samaritan is found in Luke 10:10-36. What
do these two things have in common? Charity is more likely to happen than
compassion, that's how.
Charity is tax deductible while compassion just takes your time. We
hold onto our receipts for our charity - doing things for others at an arm's
length. We have to love, to pity, to show mercy, and to suffer alongside of another
when we show compassion. Jesus set the example in helping us to see the difference
between charity and compassion. The parable found in Luke then is a story of
true compassion. Jesus asks the question in Luke 10:36, "So which of
these three (the priest, the Levite or the Samaritan) do you think was neighbor to
him who fell among the thieves?" Then he continued, "Go and do likewise."
Compassion is shown to us at all times by the Lord, let us carry that
out in our own lives today.
