Compassion.
What comes to your mind when you hear this?
Right now, I see the lack of compassion in our world.
I see people canceling each other. I see people pointing fingers and no space of empathy. There is no space to share our feelings with one another or even a chance to understand one another.
Our world is broken. Our world needs hope. Our world needs Jesus.
When you look at the definition of compassion it literally means, “to suffer together.” Do not suffer on your own, do not see someone who’s suffering be by themselves, but together.
Compassion is motivated to relieve the suffering.
There is action behind compassion.
It is not a passive phrase. It does not have an empty meaning behind it. It requires someone stepping into the suffering with someone.
It requires you to take the focus off yourself.
To my brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus, we have the opportunity to show compassion to a world that is scared, lost, angry, and confused. We have the opportunity to humble ourselves, die to self, and walk compassion out. It does not mean compromise truth, but walk in love. We have the opportunity to tell people about JESUS! We have the greatest example in Christ Jesus who walks in compassion for the ones who have been cast off and broken.
“Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:14-16 NKJV
God has constantly reminded me to have compassion for the broken world that we live in. I have to remember that the standard God has called me is not the same for those who do not know Jesus. It is because they do not know WHOSE they are. Time and time again, I have to take the log out of my own eye and remember I was lost and broken.
I have to ask the Lord to not let me be quick to judge, but have empathy and grace.
I remember when I became a Christian in high school, I fell in love with Jesus. My whole life completely changed. However, while my motives were good, my heart fell into this religious mindset of trying to dictate and condemn those around me to change rather than understand and meet them where they were at.
Oftentimes, I look back and refer to myself as a “pharisee” because I was quick to condemn and did not provide a space to listen and understand. I understood God as Holy and a righteous Judge. That God cannot partner with darkness because He is the true light. I understood that He alone is worthy and apart from God we are sinners in need of grace.
However, I did not understand the compassion, the love, and the mercy God had bestowed to those who He had created. I didn’t fully understand the LOVE of God. I knew Jesus came to die for my sins and because of that my life was devoted to Him because there was nothing I could do on my own to make myself righteous and whole. This is the Gospel! That Jesus came to die for our sins so we can have an everlasting life. (John 3:16)
And that is the beauty of the Gospel, in His love and compassion for us, He took action for us.
He did not sit back and do nothing.
Years later, I went to a conference in 2018 called “Compassion To Action” and I honestly did not know what to expect. I had my reservations and my prejudgements. My heart was not prepared for what God was going to do in the next three days. The Gospel was preached, but the Spirit of the living God renewed my heart to realize the weight of the action behind what Jesus did for me on the cross. He loved me so much that He would do whatever it took for me to be with my Beloved and for me to know whose I was.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.” Ephesians 1:3-10
“IN LOVE” this is the Father’s heart for YOU.
God has shown me that I needed to repent of the mindset I once had.
I was empathetic and had grace for people, but I was quick to want to change them or be religious.
He showed me the power of truth AND love that sets people free. It is kindness that leads to repentance. It is not compromising truth, but speaking the love of Jesus and letting the Holy Spirit do the rest.
God will call us to speak truth in love to those around us. He will also call us to show compassion and grace to those who need hope. We have the opportunity to share this with each other as brothers and sisters in Christ and to those who do not know Jesus.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-4
God is with us in our affiliations. He is with us in our day to day struggles. He has given you the Helper and has redeemed you. He has equipped you and has called you to be the light of the world to show people who do not know Jesus that there is more to this life than what we are seeing today. He is righteous and Holy. He is gracious and loving and kind.
Let us walk in compassion and grace.
Let us humble ourselves to understand each other so that we can declare the victory we have in Jesus.
“Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.” Colossians 3:12-13
~ Sarah Moon