Luke 10:29,33,36– But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”33 But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. 36 Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?”
If you have been in church awhile, you are probably familiar with the story of the “Good Samaritan”.  But you may not be familiar with the overall context of the story. Jesus is using it as an illustration to prove the limiting conditions we have on our love towards others. That we tend to justify why we can’t have compassion and love towards others unconditionally, as He has on us…
In the story there are three distinct people who come across a man who had been robbed on a roadside and thrown in a ditch.  All three have seen the man, the Priest, the Levite, and the Samaritan.  But only one had compassion on the man, and it was his compassion that caused him to help the man…
The problem was not that the man who fell in the ditch wasn’t seen by the other two that passed by.  The problem was that they chose not to see themselves as the man in the ditch!  That they too could’ve have been robbed and left for dead, so certainly they would want help too, had it been them!  But they chose not to relate and go about their personal business…
The point Jesus was making to the lawyer who was looking to justify himself in “asking who is my neighbor”, was for him to remove “the conditions” he had in giving compassion and love towards people.  To see himself as others who are suffering, and give the same compassion to them as he would want.  The challenge for us, is to examine why we justify not relating to the people we see?  Because Christ centered compassion will cause us to try and relate, so we can help no matter who it is.
Sadly the the prestigious religious leaders for the Jews at that time, the Levite and the priest, were the least filled with the love of God.  While the most despised figure of the Jews, the Samaritan, revealed the love of Christ.  The fight to relate will always be a heart issue.  To see ourselves as the one lying in the ditch, that Christ out of compassion, came and saved us from dying in!
In His Love, Ld