Go and Do Likewise: Mercy and the Neighbour

The call of Jesus is to look at Him and do likewise.

Once again, I was challenged to never take the teachings of Jesus lightly especially as He embodies them to give us a big hint as to what’s expected of us.

So the story of the Good Samaritan.

He loves his neighbour. His neighbour is the one in need of mercy. And the extension of mercy was seen in attending to the wounds, transporting the needy to a place of recuperation and covering all running costs to the restoration of health.

He put himself out. He disrupted his schedule. Nothing was more important to him than ensuring that the one in need of mercy received it abundantly.

That’s a challenging story to digest today. It’s challenging because it’s not about sentiment and feelings of the heart. It’s about the will motivating acts of mercy in the bid of helping someone in need. It’s about seeing the need above and beyond any other apparent issue that might prevent meeting that need.

Jesus should know all about that because, funnily enough, He goes into a Samaritan village and meets the needs of a woman who is clearly in need of mercy. That doesn’t just impact the woman, but the village. All because Jesus is a Good Samaritan.

Jesus loves His neighbour. His neighbour is in need of mercy. And He extends mercy by being bruised and wounded for what separates us from God. He transports us to the place of recuperation in the presence of the Father where we are healed and given life anew. He covers all the running costs so we are made whole.

Unsurprisingly, His call to us then is … to go and do likewise.

(Photo by youssef naddam on Unsplash)

For His Name’s Sake

Shalom

C. L. J. Dryden