Spiritual Helplessness

The Path of True Entrusting


"Blessed are those who recognize they are spiritually helpless."

- Matt.5:3 -God's Word Translation.

Jesus taught a lot about compassion in His parable called "The Good Samaritan."

And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?” So he answered and said, “ ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” And He said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.” But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, 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. So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’ So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?” And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

- Luke 10:25-37

Sometimes I think that in our familiarity with this account we overlook a lot of the message.

The parable was given as part of a response to a question:

What shall I do to inherit eternal life?

Jesus answered with a question. Responding to a question with a question. He often did that. This had the effect of revealing more of the motive and intent of the questioner - He focused them more on their heart than their head.

The questioner responds with the traditional answer based on learned belief from the teachings of Moses, but tries to "wriggle" out of the responsibility of the obvious meaning by pleading ignorance of the identity of his neighbor!! So Jesus tells the story to drive home the message.

However, I am intrigued by Jesus' comment: "Do this and you will live."

How can we will ourselves to love - isn't love an emotion that causes action, or is love something different in Jesus' interpretation?

Love, in Jesus' terminology, appears to be contained within obedience and sacrifice. If I paraphrase the "law of Moses" - I think it would say:

Obey God more than you obey your own inclinations and desires, Let God's desire drive your actions and not your own preferences.

Loving your neighbor as you love yourself is compassion - but loving your neighbor or others more than yourself is divine - the way of life demonstrated by Jesus.

The dramatic twist to the parable is that the example of great human compassion, the Samaritan, who is the hero of the story, is from a socially outcast group - classified as an "unbeliever" by the hearers of Jesus in this situation!

In my opinion, there are several observations about this parable and it's message, that are not usually shared in a "Christian" context.

Firstly, Jesus, in illustrating what must be done to inherit or gain eternal life, also answered the question: What would I be like if I were a citizen of God's kingdom?

• I'd be a compassionate person
• I would not necessarily be an orthodox believer - i.e. belonging to the "right" religion etc. In fact, from Jesus' viewpoint, it appears that actions count more than "beliefs."
• The intentions of my heart are more important than convictions of the mind or reason.
• God values a compassionate heart more than a "believing" mind.

Secondly, Jesus seems to be saying that citizenship of Heaven - eternal life, is not a matter of race, creed, or membership. It's purely a condition of the heart.

Thirdly, in the bigger context of "gaining eternal life" - Jesus didn't jump on the "evangelist bandwagon" and use this opportunity to "share the gospel," by giving the questioner the pat answers like: "It's not what you do, it's Who you know!" Or, "It's grace and not works that earn eternal life!" Instead Jesus used the opportunity to teach a lesson in character.

Time and again the message of Jesus is that of boundless compassion. God has it and wants us to have it simply by truly entrusting in the power of love found within us as we live with one another.

Salvation is a gift. Given freely to those who admit that they are spiritually helpless - or poor in spirit.

We are saved, or have eternal life, not because of our good works or even because of our beliefs, but because of the nature of of life that is within all of us - Love. The divine image of God has been fully restored by the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Being a citizen of God's kingdom is simply living up to our restored nature as children of God. Characterized by an attitude of humility, forgiveness and true entrusting in our perfect Father - God.

With apologies to Erich Segal (Love Story) - Love doesn't mean "never having to say you're sorry" - Love means always being forgiven.