¹³ “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.“

John 15: 13 KJV

6min read

So often I can deceive myself by thinking it is part of my duty to show others that being right is honouring to God’s name. But the Holy Spirit’s gentle convictions guide me back to what God asks me to do: To love my Neighbour. This is something I battle with. It is not something I am drawn to naturally. I often find myself drifting towards what is right in my own eyes, which causes me to stumble my way to loving my neighbour.

If Jesus is our perfect example, being kind to ourselves and being kind to others is ultimately what loving your neighbour as yourself is about. In the parable of the Good Samaritan, I believe Jesus is describing to us what it looks like to love our neighbour. It is not justified by what we wear or what bible scriptures we know. It is not justified by what ranking we are in society. It is all about our heart! Because it takes more strength to be kind, than to be right.

²⁵ On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” ²⁶“What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?” ²⁷ He answered, “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.” ²⁸ “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”²⁹ But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

³⁰ In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. ³¹ A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. ³² So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. ³³ But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. ³⁴ He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. ³⁵ The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

³⁶ “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” ³⁷ The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

The Parable of the Good Samaritan Luke 10: 25-37 NIV

In this parable the Samaritan took pity on the man in need. He saw the man in his deepest despair, naked and abandoned. And he poured out his kindness to him when the man could do anything for him in return. Is that power through love? Is that love at its purest form? The Samaritan had compassion for him. He saw him and took pity on him. Like Jesus when He sees us in our naked form with all of our sins, all of our burdens and bondages and loves us anyway. That is God’s love. That is the unconditional love that God has for us. And He asks us to do the same to ourselves and to those around us.

I believe God asks us to show up to others through our kindness. To see people in their brokenness. See them and love them deeply, having mercy on them as Jesus models for us. We can recognise their behaviour in the natural and then make a choice to fight for them in the spiritual, by getting down on our knees and praying. By showering them with kindness even when their actions are not worthy of love, but loving them anyway. In their complaining, show them love. In their gossip, show them love. In their pride, show them love. Put on Jesus. Put on love.

Jesus shows us kindness through love by sitting with the tax collectors and prostitutes. What was He representing? That kindness prevails. He honours a kind, gentle spirit, one who does not think better of themselves. One who chooses to strips themselves of their rights, dining with those who do not deserve to be in His presence, but He desires to be with them anyway. He sees them in their need. In their lack. In their sickness. And desires so greatly to set them free by coming into relationship with Him. He represents what it means to have a heart of compassion.

A definition of compassion I love is, “to look at another and have a strong feeling of sympathy and sadness for their suffering, desiring to alleviate their pain.” Jesus see’s us. Look at your neighbour, don’t see them by the way they are acting, see them deep in their hearts, in their brokenness. Their actions are an effect of the way they lack in love for themselves.  

Being kind is not the choice I gravitate to naturally. But if your heart is willing and open. If your heart is teachable to the gentle convictions of the Holy Spirit, then you will learn what it looks like to love your neighbour. Be the shining light of Jesus to those around you, and let His light shine through you. Allow God to do a good work in you, and kindness will show up in your actions. When there is kindness, love prevails.

² If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.

1 Corinthians 13: 2 NIV

Nadia x

All for His Glory.