10/02/2024
Compassion for others should be in the heart of every Christian; it is one of the central characteristics of Christianity. It is a deep caring for others that is at the very heart of what Jesus described in the Sermon on the Mount, and has come to be known to us as the golden rule....
“So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”
Matthew 7:12 ESV
Compassion is also at the heart of what Jesus expounds as the second of the greatest commandments:
“And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."”
Mark 12:30-31 ESV
Our caring for others begins with compassion and that deep caring leads us immediately to prayer, and then action. Pastor E.M. Bounds speaks of it in this way...
"Compassion develops and grows when a person is confronted by the deep needs and distress of people who are unable to help themselves. Helplessness appeals to compassion.
Compassion is silent, but does not remain secluded. It reaches out at the sight of trouble, sin and need." – E. M. Bounds
So compassion calls us to move. When we show mercy it is compassion in action! On a cold and rainy day it causes us to stop at a market, buy a warm drink, and then while handing it to an unfortunate person shivering on the corner, buy all of their newspapers so that they can seek shelter. It is going to the funeral home with food for the family of someone we barely know. It is praying with an elderly person in a rehab center even though their dementia will erase you’re their memory of you ever having been there. Well, you catch the drift, it is the same unearned love we receive from God... it is the foundation of mercy... it is Jesus on the cross.
“The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.”
Psalms 145:8-9 ESV
Prayer is an integral part of compassion, but it is only the beginning. We pray for God to help those for whom we have sympathy, and then for guidance, and the strength we need to help them. We become the arms, hands, feet, and physical embrace of God's own love for our neighbor.
In one of His parables Jesus taught us that action and caring towards others is incredibly important... we call these the mercies…
“For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?”
Matthew 25:35-37 ESV
Yet, I have also heard another passage of scripture, Matthew 26:11, used to justify a lack of compassion, and someone's inactivity. However this scripture was actually Jesus instructing His disciples regarding their need to take advantage of His physical presence with them just before His time with them was over. As a matter of fact, the woman in this story was showing incredible compassion towards Christ. Jesus defends her actions by saying:
“For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me. In pouring this ointment on my body, she has done it to prepare me for burial.”
Matthew 26:11-12 ESV
Compassion blesses us, our families, and others; all at the same time.
I took a picture of my grandson one weekend as he stood by a donor's sign posted in a public sports park. It was the name of a man who helped build the sports field my grandson was playing on. It honored the donation of a man of means who was changing the course of lives in his community. It was representative of compassion for those less fortunate. It was also a relative of mine that had no idea that his caring would directly affect a member of his own family. In truth, the love and compassion we exhibit towards others makes all men our family, and isn't that what Jesus did for us?
“he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,”
Ephesians 1:5 ESV
So let's open our hearts to those in need, pray that God show us how we can help them, and then do what we can to show mercy to those who need it most. Compassion is the first step, prayer the second, and action the third.
Lord we pray this morning that you uncover our compassion and reveal its power to us. Lord we ask that you direct us in mercy and show us how to use the bounty you have provided us to lift up the least fortunate of your children. Father we ask that you bless us as we help those we can, and reveal those we are unable to help to others of your children who might be more capable. Lord your mercy is our guide, may we praise you for it always.
Prayer:
Father, thank you for giving us compassion for those who suffer around us. Thank you for including our help for them as a part of your will for us, and leading us into every merciful action that reveals our love for them, and yours for us. Help us Father to grow in kindness, as we are led to show mercy, and sometimes grace to the less fortunate. Help us in our unbelief so that we will be more likely to love our neighbors, friends, and even our enemies, who need your help through our actions. Let the mercy we show to others reveal your presence in our own lives, and serve to bear witness of you so that they will be drawn to Jesus, and their lives be transformed and made righteous. Take our humble compassion, and meager efforts to be merciful, be magnified in you, and glorify your name. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who loves us without reservation, and by whose mercy and grace we have been redeemed, freed of sin, and given eternal life through the life, death, and resurrection of your Son Jesus. In Jesus we see your mercy. In Jesus we receive your grace, and in Jesus we come to know your compassion for us. All of these made greater Abba, and more effective in our lives, when we realize that they are being held in your outstretched hands. Our acts of kindness and love becoming your amazing mercy and grace, through the suffering of Christ, and our meager actions. Hear us pray Father that you will show your mercy and grace through us. Hear us pray that we will be able to feed the hungry from what you have provided us, give drink to the thirsty from your cup, clothe the naked with the clothes you make for us, and do many more acts of compassion and kindness for others in your name.
And with this prayer, and God’s merciful hand upon us, we say… Amen, Amen, Amen!
Rich Forbes