Justified By Mercy - by Joel Hempel The lawyer wanted to know how to inherit eternal life; actually, how to justify himself. After all, you have to get the benefactor’s attention before you can get his blessing. So, how can I inherit eternal life? The lawyer asks Jesus. Jesus tells him to answer his own question, and the lawyer gives the correct biblical response: Love God fully and completely, and love your neighbor as yourself. Do this, and you will live. Jesus confirms. Clear enough? Yes. Simple enough? No. So, the lawyer, being a smart man and wanting to defend himself, asks the challenging question: Who is my neighbor? Jesus then tells the man a parable about the Good Samaritan.* It’s a story many of us have used to describe what it means to be a neighbor, to love sacrificially. And indeed the story does that. But first and foremost, it’s a life-saving message for each of us: The example Jesus gives to describe who the neighbor is and what it means to demonstrate compassion is so over-the-top demanding that there is no way the lawyer or anyone else could live that truth. Oh, it’s true: there are people we know, maybe even ourselves, who spend their own money to go on mission trips, who sacrifice their lives for loved ones, who serve broken and sick neighbors in the inner city, or give bundles of money to organizations that serve people in need. And all of that is truly beautiful and God-pleasing. But Jesus’ kind of neighborly love doesn’t end when we come home or no longer have a needy neighbor in front of us. For there are always neighbors in need, near and far and at home. If we want to justify ourselves, we must love like the Good Samaritan every waking hour of every day. It’s not going to happen! In fact, we are the ones broken and in need. We need Jesus! We need the grace of God. We need the empowering Spirit to inspire, equip, and strengthen our resolve to love as the Good Samaritan did. And then we need God’s mercy because we fail repeatedly. Is the story of the Good Samaritan a story that helps us understand how to love? Absolutely! First, though, it’s a story about Jesus and his love. Jesus sees us broken and exhausted, and knowing the help we need is beyond what any of us can do for ourselves, Jesus comes to us. The God of All Mercy brings the healing balm of the Gospel - Himself – lays his scarred hands upon us, and restores us to life. If you haven’t already, let yourself be wrapped in Jesus’s warm embrace. Let him attend to you and nurse you back to health. Let him prepare you for life eternal, and for a life of mercy now. [Next week, Justified For Mercy] *Luke 10:25-37 |
