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Love and Compassion — Week 1 Scripture: “If anyone has this world’s goods and sees his brother in need but shuts off his compassion from him—how can God’s love reside in him?” (1 John 3:17). Love is at the heart of everything a Christian does. We know that God is love and because of His love He sent His only Son to die for us. Love is so important to God that He commanded us to love our neighbor as our self. As I meditate on His love for me, I’m reminded of Psalm 103:2-4, “Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits, who forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases, who redeems my life from the pit and crowns me with love and compassion.” It is easy for me to love my parents, my brother, my children, and especially my grandsons. I really don’t have any problems loving those close to me . . . the ones I choose to love. In the Sermon on the Mount discourse, Jesus described what was required under the law for a person to please God. Jesus said He wanted to describe what living under grace requires. He explains the greater measure that grace demands. In Matthew 5:43 and 44, Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said, you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy, but I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you. . . .”Jesus was saying in essence; love your neighbors and then some. We read in the Scripture how Jesus Himself looked on the crowd and was moved by love and compassion. Webster defines compassion as, to sympathize, to suffer, and to bear. Therefore, I could surmise that compassion is love in its purest form. We live in a world that habitually and superficially pronounces love over people, places, things, and feelings. The world’s love is a “love” that is self-motivated with insatiable appetites. However, compassion appears to be “other-driven,” seeking to fulfill the need of another regardless of the consequence or reward to self. I would honestly like to tell you that I have always responded from a place of compassion when dealing with the needs of others. However, it is a continual struggle that I have within my flesh. At the risk of being too transparent, I can love those in my life that are easy to love, whose problems are easy to solve and those who do not create burdens or inconveniences for me. Jesus requires and expects us to be inconvenienced, bear the burden, and demonstrate His enduring mercy, especially to those who have been offensive, manipulative and unkind. For those who are oppressed, homeless and hungry; the haughty and the humble, the pious and the pitiful, the righteous and the ruined—those polarities challenge me to approach each individual with God-given compassion. Fortunately, I have not been asked to do this alone, but have been gracefully equipped through the power of the Holy Spirit to tenderly tend to the needs of those who surround me. A few years ago, a friend of mine shared with me a prayer that God had inspired her to write. I have found that this prayer encapsulates the very essence of compassion, and on those days that I feel challenged, I pray this prayer. Dear Heavenly Father: Today I pray for compassion that supersedes anger; that dissolves disgust. Amen. |
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