Spend Yourself for Others — Shine Brighter in the Darkness

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Who is your Lazarus?

“If you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness…” Isaiah 58:10-11

In Luke’s gospel (Lk. 16:19–31), Jesus tells a parable of Lazarus and the rich man. In the parable, the rich man lived a luxurious life while Lazarus lay at the rich man’s gate in poverty, yearning to eat scraps that fell off the rich man’s table. When the two men died, angels came and carried Lazarus to Abraham’s side, while the rich man found himself in torment.

When I think about this parable, I often wonder if I were the rich man in the parable, how much more would I have done for Lazarus? I would have probably attended to his needs: given him food, shelter, and clothing, made him feel comfortable, and ensured he got proper medical attention. You probably would have done even better. But, how about now? Who is the Lazarus in your life?

When you look around, you will undoubtedly find people who need your help. Not just with your resources, but with your time, presence, and your heart of compassion, and they want to hear and know that they are loved and supported. When you think about being good to others, often we think about strangers. But how about those around us? The people we know, our family, and neighbours? Surely, the rich man knew Lazarus and was in a position to help, but his riches and influence blinded his heart of compassion.

We are encouraged in Isaiah 58:10-11 to offer ourselves in serving others. It reads, “If you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness and your night will become like the noonday.” This means putting other people’s interests before your own. Being sensitive to the needs of others. To offer words of comfort to those who are hurting, going out of your way and allowing yourself to be distracted in attending to the needs of others.

Jesus also gave a contrasting parable in Luke 10:25-37, touching on the parable of the Good Samaritan. In this parable, a man was attacked by robbers, beaten and stripped of his possessions. A Samaritan came where the man was, and took pity on him. He allowed himself to be distracted by attending to the needs of the injured man. He bandaged him, poured oil and carried him to the nearest inn for further care. He did what the priest and the Levite couldn’t do.


In these two parables, one saw the needs of the other and acted by offering himself to meet that need, while the other (the rich man) got blinded by his wealth. The Samaritan saw his Lazarus -  someone in need, and chose to offer not just his possessions, but his heart, time, energy and compassion by attending to his needs. When we spend ourselves by actively caring for others, we are touching the heart of Christ.  

“And satisfy the needs of the oppressed,” means putting action behind your compassion. Like the good Samaritan, we are encouraged to go one mile further than what’s necessary. The question we ought to ask ourselves is, ‘Who’s my Lazarus? Who can I be good to today?’ When you begin to ask yourself this, you are actually positioning yourself to be used by God to meet the needs of others. We are always in a position to help in one way or another. We shouldn’t let our present circumstances, wealth, titles, or influence numb our hearts of compassion. As believers, we are called to let our light of generosity shine around us.

There’s a promise attached to Isaiah 58:10-11, “then your light will rise in the darkness and your night will become like the noonday.” Light represents God’s favour in our lives. When we continue to pour out seeds of goodness and generosity, God’s favour will shine brightly in our lives even during our darkest times. When we pour ourselves out for others, God pours Himself into us.

Just as the Good Samaritan took his time to pour out his compassion and generosity on the injured man, Jesus commands us to “go and do likewise.” We have people in our midst who need our help, generosity, and to defend those who cannot defend themselves. When you are being good to someone with simple acts of kindness, it immediately gets God’s attention. He sees the good thing you are doing even when no one is watching, and He promises to shine His light of favour upon you. Paul reminds us to remain dedicated to doing good even when it feels hard and discouraging. Galatians 6:9, “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up."

Prayer:
Lord, help me to live beyond myself.
Teach me to serve others with compassion, and let Your light shine through my life.
Amen.

 

 

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