The burden of love
“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’”. (Luke 10:34-35)
There was once a high-ranking civil servant who often entertained important guests from other countries. On one occasion, the chief guest was a French diplomat. The civil servant also invited his father, who was a godly man, to the event. In the course of the evening, as guests mingled and talked, the civil servant noticed his father was in deep conversation with the French diplomat. He joined them and discovered that his father was talking to the eminent guest about his soul. Quickly the son found an excuse to lead the Frenchman away. Some weeks later, the father died. By the graveside, the son looked at the flowers and many cards which expressed how much different people valued his father’s spiritual care. He came across a beautiful array of flowers with a small card which read, “To the man who cared for my soul.” It was from the French diplomat.
In the New Testament, there are two ways care is expressed. One is anxious concern. The kind of care that Jesus identified in Martha’s life: “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things” (Luke 10:41). It was those cares that distracted her from the Saviour. And it was the same cares Peter asks us to cast upon the Lord Jesus: “casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7). The other way care is expressed is as a watchful, genuine and responsive interest. We see this shepherd-like care in Peter’s second letter, “Moreover I will be careful to ensure that you always have a reminder of these things after my decease” (2 Peter 1:15). Peter was as fully committed as a spiritual shepherd at the end of his life as when the Lord first called him to shepherd the flock of God. That was the kind of man the father in our story was. The Lord Jesus describes in the story of the Good Samaritan His own care for the lost in the words, “and took care of him” (Luke 10:34), and He speaks of the responsibility He gave to the innkeeper, “Take care of him” (Luke 10:35). In this beautiful story the Lord Jesus conveys His care for the lost and His continued care for us when we have been found.
The Lord wants His caring ministry to be evident in our lives. He wants us to care for the souls of our neighbours and for the people of God. Paul writes of his concern for all the churches in 2 Corinthians 11:28, and he writes of Timothy, “I have no one like-minded, who will sincerely care for your state” (Philippians 2:20). Interestingly, in these verses he uses care in the sense of a burden. It is the burden of love that the Lord carried, and it is the burden, by His grace, He wants us to carry.
