Sacrificing Self - Even for Your Enemies — June 18 [Description]Overview of the Passage:This passage uses the parable of the Good Samaritan to illustrate that true righteousness and godliness are shown through selfless love and active compassion—especially for the hurting and overlooked. The Samaritan, seen as an outsider, reflected Christ far more than the religious leaders who passed by the wounded man. In the same way, Jesus did not ignore our suffering but stepped into it to save us, even praying for His enemies.The passage challenges readers not to separate their faith from their everyday actions. It warns against religious hypocrisy—claiming to follow Christ while ignoring or even oppressing the needy. Real Christianity means embodying Christ’s love so fully that kindness and mercy flow naturally from within. The love of Christ implanted by the Holy Spirit is what transforms lives and draws others to God—not religious performance or lofty declarations. 365D 169

Spirit of Prophecy Reading 365D 169

Christ’s Object Lessons pp.381-385: 365D 169.1

The Samaritan had fulfilled the command, “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself,” thus showing that he was more righteous than those by whom he was denounced. Risking his own life, he had treated the wounded man as his brother. This Samaritan represents Christ. Our Saviour manifested for us a love that the love of man can never equal. When we were bruised and dying, He had pity upon us. He did not pass us by on the other side, and leave us, helpless and hopeless, to perish. He did not remain in His holy, happy home, where He was beloved by all the heavenly host. He beheld our sore need, He undertook our case, and identified His interests with those of humanity. He died to save His enemies. He prayed for His murderers. Pointing to His own example, He says to His followers, “These things I command you, that ye love one another”; “as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.” John 15:17; 13:34. 365D 169.2

Wherever there is an impulse of love and sympathy, wherever the heart reaches out to bless and uplift others, there is revealed the working of God’s Holy Spirit. In the depths of heathenism, men who have had no knowledge of the written law of God, who have never even heard the name of Christ, have been kind to His servants, protecting them at the risk of their own lives. Their acts show the working of a divine power. The Holy Spirit has implanted the grace of Christ in the heart of the savage, quickening his sympathies contrary to his nature, contrary to his education. The “Light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world” (John 1:9), is shining in his soul; and this light, if heeded, will guide his feet to the kingdom of God. 365D 169.3