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CHRISTIAN COMPASSION "And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise." (Luke 10:30- 37)Many years ago, when I started my life's journeys thru the Bible, I was enamored with this portion of Scripture, and it has become one of my all-time favorites. Many great truths are found here but allow me a bit of liberty to offer some thoughts to you.In this account, Jesus responds to an expert in the law, and the narrates the parable of the Good Samaritan, highlighting what it truly means to "love your neighbor as yourself."Take note here of a Contrast in Choices:We read about a Priest and then a Levite who were passing by this poor soul who had fallen among some thieves. Those thieves had beaten him to a pulp leaving him wounded from the attack. Then adding insult to injury, they took every stich of clothing he was wearing, and as crooked cowards usually do, they took to the hills leaving their victim at the sight of their assault. When those religious phonies see that hapless man lying there, they simply pass by go about there business. They didn't want to get involved, did they? I can almost hear each of them say to themselves, "If I stop to help this man, WHAT WILL IT MEAN TO ME?"Then along comes a certain Samaritan going about his everyday chores. His take on this fella's condition is totally the opposite. He went to him, bound up his wounds and poured some oil and wine on them to cleanse and keep them from becoming infected. Then he strapped that hurting man on his own beast, took him to a local inn, and spent some time simply taking care of this fella. Well, it didn't end there. The next morning, that Samaritan needed to be on his way, but before he left, he told the manager there if it costs more to tend to that fella than the two pence I gave you, when I return (and right there is a great message in itself), I'll foot the entire bill. You see folks, the Samaritans attitude was, "If I DON"T stop to help this man, WHAT WILL IT MEAN TO HIM?"And that is what being a "neighbor" is all about. There are many others around us who have been stripped of hope, wounded with worry, and left for dead by Hell's greatest thief.We're not in this great work of God for fortune and recognition, we're engaged in it for fruit that remains. When we love and show Christian compassion to any hurting neighbor, we will act kindly towards anyone that we happen to meet, and that means yes, even our enemies.Friends, give careful consideration on how our Saviour closes this passage of Scripture saying, "Go, and do thou likewise." Each of us can make a difference in someone's life. And we do that by going out of our way by being compassionate.