Compassion….This is a word that you hear a lot, but what does it truly look like? In Matthew 9:36 it says Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd. In James 1:27 James says Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress… Generally speaking, the neediest people in the early church were orphans and widows, the principle James is expressing in this passage is our responsibility to care for those in need. As believers, we are striving to be like Jesus, with His character and filled with His attributes. But lets get past the “religious” lingo and really examine what compassion looks like for us in today’s world?
I find myself making judgment on who I believe deserves my compassion. Not necessarily by their looks, how they dress, etc but I find myself making judgments of “well, they are merely suffering the consequences of their poor choices”. Let’s look at the parable of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15:11-32; his Father’s reaction to him coming home was not one of judgment or condemnation for all of the wrong choices he made; rather we see him say 22 But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. 23 And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. 24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.
What does Compassion look like to you? Have you ever been on the receiving end? Have you ever been on the giving end? As believers in Christ, we are called to be filled with compassion, we are called to take care of the needy. There are opportunities all around us to show compassion to one another. There are people who God brings into our life for a specific purpose – sometimes it is easy to rationalize them away but oh the joy that comes when we listen and act when God leads.
A couple of weeks ago, a lady came into our place of business to have her car repaired. She had been in an auto accident and was obviously quite frustrated about the whole matter (which is a typical reaction). She shared her frustration of the car accident with Kim Sammons, one of our Team Members, but emphatically concluded that this minor inconvenience was nothing in the scheme of things; she had lost her 5 year old son a little over a year ago in a previous car accident. Kim was overwhelmed with emotion because she immediately knew what car accident she was referring to. Kim had witnessed this tragic event and had been troubled because of the loss of the little boy. Kim knew God had their paths cross for a specific reason. It wasn’t just coincidence that Kim had witnessed the accident which took the life of this lady’s son and then a year later, their paths crossed again. Tears were shed as they talked about the day from a year ago and Kim was so moved by this, she wanted to act and show compassion for her. One reason the lady was frustrated about this accident was the out of pocket costs that she was going to incur. Kim saw this opportunity to show compassion by paying the deductible for her. Kim did not share with the customer her intent to pay until she came to pick up her vehicle when the repairs were completed. The customer then shared she had financial problems that she hadn’t told anyone about, she just prayed God would help her. In Kim’s words “He did, through us we answered her prayer!” She could have brushed it off but she didn’t, she acted on the opportunity that God brought into her life.
Look for what opportunities God is bringing to you – who has he placed in your life today? Maybe it is someone you see every day or maybe it is someone you have never seen before in your life. Matthew 5:16 says In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
This week is LOVE WEEK at Genesis Church – simply a week for us to show our compassion for others. We have the opportunity to donate items for an orphanage in Guatemala, donate items needed for a local school here in Tallahassee and are encouraged to do random acts of kindness. There are opportunities all around us! My desire is to be filled with the compassion of Jesus!
