See, Feel, Go, Care

“He saw him, he had compassion, he went to him …and took care of him” Luke 10:33-34,37

See, Feel, Go, Care.

When asked “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus instead answered, “What does it mean to be a neighbor?” Those four actions are what defined the “neighborliness” of the Good Samaritan. Okay, I’ll admit, the priest and the Levite also “saw”, but they passed by on the other side. The Samaritan saw, felt, went, and cared.

And Jesus says to us, “You go, and do likewise”. So how do we do that?

1. See those in need. Don’t turn away. Don’t avoid eye contact. Don’t avoid that neighborhood. And definitely don’t pass by on the other side!
2. Feel compassion. Feel the need of the other. Know that you too were once stripped, beaten, and left for dead. And Jesus came and had compassion on you.
3. Go to them. Life is hard and life gets messy. We tend to with draw from other’s messiness. Marital messiness. Family messiness. Financial messiness. Emotional messiness. Don’t be afraid to go to people in their messiness. Don’t send someone else. You don’t have to fix them. You just have to be with them.
4. Care for them. “But I can’t do everything for everyone!” Don’t worry about what you can’t do. Just do what you can. It may not be much. But it’s a lot more than nothing!

See, Feel, Go, Care.

And think about this on a local level: if a neighbor is someone who sees others in need, has compassion, goes to them, and takes care of them, then how does this radically redefine the word “neighborhood”?! What if we said this is what a neighborhood is – people on a block/street/subdivision who see, feel, go, and care for one another? What would that look like? How would that transform the dynamic of your neighborhood?

We might even call it, “Thy Kingdom Come”!

The well wisher of your soul’s happiness,
Pastor Tom