Whether you are a Believer following Christ; or still out there in this world trying to independently survive alone, untouched by the love of Jesus, what this world needs is compassion.
What does compassion look like?
We can learn from Jesus that he showed compassion on those who spit in his face, pulled out his beard, and nailed him to the cross. Jesus cared more about those who needed a choice, than the pain and humiliation he felt.
Is there someone in your life; or traveling down the road near you on the interstate … who needs compassion?
John 3:16-17 King James Version
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
How can you tell if someone is in desperate need of compassion?
The signs are control issues; if someone is bragging; or taking advantage of a situation, manipulating control, seeking sympathy, putting you down; basically anyone who has signs of a toxic personality, desperately is seeking compassion!
Compassion is much different than sympathy!
And, clothed in Christ, you can show compassion because you have some love in you to give!
Or perhaps, you are feeling lonely, or unloved as you are going through a very difficult time in your life; and you desperately need to know someone cares about you?
My friend, God cares about you and so do I, and this is an evidence that is it not by accident that you are reading this! God is speaking to you today that He cares about you!
Jesus cares about all things God cares about; and because Jesus cares, we can care!
When we know and believe in the love God has for us, compassion is our new ability in Christ! Compassion is a picture to the world of the love of Jesus that God has sent to the world, so that we can know the love of God, and what that love looks like!
Not everyone has a story that we personally can identify with, but Jesus can! Jesus has felt the pain, the hurt, the loneliness; and Jesus has seen those who have spitefully used and persecuted, or abused you; and Jesus cares enough to send this message to you today!
One, to encourage you that I, and others care because Jesus cares.
Two, to inspire you and put courage in you to believe.
Whether you have accepted Jesus as your savior yet, or not; God loves you!
First, we must be born again; then once we have experienced that compassion from God fill our heart by the touch of the Holy Spirit, then we too can show compassion to those we meet along our path.
God has assigned us to meet with someone. Are you prepared to show compassion? Be careful to notice those around you … and remember this message, because God has put compassion in your heart to make a difference in this broken world!
Compassion will simply look like a person who will show genuine evidence of interest and understanding, with a Caring Heart to listen and encourage someone in what it is that they don’t really know how to even express; that what they really need is to know is that someone cares about them!
God maybe an invisible God; but HE has been made visible through Jesus the Christ; and can be visible through your heart that believes too! Jesus is Alive; He has Risen and he lives in a believer and has given us the gift of the Holy Spirit to live and to love.
Once I was reading in Proverbs; and I wondered, who is “I wisdom?” Like “I wisdom” was talking about a person? “I wisdom” is Jesus in the Trinity of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit! In Him, lives Compassion and Wisdom!
If you want to feel peace? In other words, experience this living peace inside of you that no man can steal from you; show compassion and experience Joy!
The Bible talks about Saul having scales form on his eyes after he had an encounter with Jesus. The Bible talks about Ananias having a conversation with God that many people had told him about all the evil Saul had done; and the risk that it was to Ananias to go to Saul, because of all Saul had done to believers! But God! But God had plans for Saul just as God had plans for Ananias.
And God has plans for you! And, God has plans for those HE has placed in your path!
Once we have an encounter with Jesus like Saul did; We will LET nothing separate us from the love of God!!! And, those scales most likely will fall off in the form of tears, when the Holy Spirit convicts us that to love HIM, we must love others…
I want you to think about something; and it’s not me that requests this, but the Holy Spirit who speaks to me through my faith in Jesus Christ, who is my Savior and Lord.
Who is like “Saul” in your life?
* Do you love them? Or hate them, because there is no in between with God!
Who is like “Ananias” in your life?
Are you being like “Mary”? Or “Martha”? … Like described in the Bible? Are you seeking & sitting at the feet of Jesus to hear the WORD of the LORD? Or, are you busied up around the house; or busy in the business of this broken world?
I would venture to say we have a little of each of these Bible people characteristics in our heart. Now the question is what can we learn from them?
Now the question is
what can we learn from them?
We can learn from them, as Jesus taught them; Jesus also teaches us!
Learn from the Teacher Jesus; read the Bible, and hear God’s Voice through His Word and listen in The Holy Spirit. And, let God’s Word penetrate your heart.
Confess your inability; confess the hardness of your heart; and when you think you can’t show compassion to someone because of what you know they have done, tell that to Jesus; and know that He does understand.
But know this, the Bible is very clear that we cannot say “I love you” to Jesus if we can’t say “I love you” to those that curse us; to those who speak badly of us; to those who despitefully use us; as the Bible says there is reason to show compassion! There is purpose to do good to them; and there is purpose to bless them; and there purpose to pray for them …
Pray and Praise, like Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises unto God; and learn as the prisoners heard them …AND, show compassion like they showed to the guard, “We are here!” … for their behalf and the behalf of their family; that their life may be spared to know Eternal LIFE!
Acts 16:25-34 King James Version
25 And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.
26 And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed.
27 And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled.
28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.
That’s compassion in action!!!
Showing compassion to someone gives them reason, hope and courage to believe in Jesus as their future!
And think about this, if you have trouble forgiving someone and believing you can ever forgive them for what they’ve done; what might they be thinking in the traps of their mind? Don’t you believe they are in need of compassion?
Don’t you believe
they are in need of compassion?
Compassion has the power for others to see God’s love for them through you!
And if you can do good to someone unconditionally, that’s a picture of the Forgiveness of Christ!
This is the power of compassion!
John 6:37 teaches us: “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will never turn away.
This is our sole purpose on this Earth! To love God and love our neighbor … To show compassion, because we love Jesus, so that all will come to know the love of God through Jesus Christ, as their Savior; and choose to make Jesus their Lord!
Now, if we can do this small thing for God; God will do amazing things through us!
In closing I will leave you with a scripture that has become my life’s goal; and my growing and learning ability in compassion, which is the reverse for my old stubborn & pride-filled ways!
The Scales have come off!
1 John 4:16English Standard Version (ESV)
16 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.
If this has been a blessing to you, will you show God how grateful you are? We would love to hear from you. We are here for you as the Lord enables us to be.
Blessings in the Love of Jesus,
Karen Rowe
Hope in Today Ministries, Inc.
The Train Whistle, Sounding the call of God’s Love [2012 Published for you]
Contact Hope in Today Ministries Team: karen@hopeintoday.com