If you go to Google and type in "what does the bible say about compassion" you will find a website called Openbible.info. On that website you can do a topical search for any word or words you want. If you type in 'compassion' you will find 78 verses about compassion in the Bible. Many of those are about God's compassion for us. Others are instructing us to have compassion for each other. Now, I could talk all day long about God's compassion for us. Oh, I could probably write an entire BOOK about His compassion for me! I have not led the most righteous life by any means. Poor Mother Teresa would probably have blushed just standing next to me during certain times in my past. But today I want to talk about how we should have compassion for each other.
The idea of this blog is to bring encouragement, guidance, and support to other lost souls out there looking for better understanding and a deeper relationship with Christ. So I want to use my topic today to encourage all of you to encourage all of you. If each of us starts making a conscious decision each day to show compassion to even just one person in our lives, then tomorrow two some ones, and so on; just imagine what that would do in your lives. It won't be instant, but over time you will feel a tremendous change in yourselves. It will get easier and easier until it is second nature. And before you know it the people around you will start changing too. You may think I am crazy right now but it's true. Dr. Suess said in The Lorax "Unless some one like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not." We as Christians really need to take a good long look at that sentence. As we sit back and judge that the rest of the world is going to hell we need to ask ourselves... what have I done to help any of them change direction? What have I done to show even one of the non-believers that there is a better way? When was the last time I cared a whole awful lot about making things better?
"What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, "Go in peace; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead." James 2:14-17 NIV
If we are walking around calling ourselves Christains but behaving just as selfishly and arrogantly as everyone else what does that make us? If we do not show compassion and kindness every where we go what good is our "faith"? Are we leading others to Christ through acting like the rest of the world? No! We are supposed to be different! We are a reflection of Christ. The only way other people will know that we are Christians, or that we belong to Jesus Christ, is if we show love to each other [John 13:35]!! We need to be helping each other, loving each other, showing comfort and compassion to each other.
"If anyone says "I love God," but keeps on hating his brother, he is a liar; for if he doesn’t love his brother who is right there in front of him, how can he love God whom he has never seen?" 1John 4:20 TLB
I know we are living in a very selfish world, but today, as the holidays are getting into full swing, I encourage you to show a little compassion and understanding toward someone in your life, or even a total stranger. Find some way today to allow God's love and light to shine through you! Tomorrow, find two ways or times that you can do that. Pray for yourself, me, and the other people reading this blog that we all might have strength and help from Christ to help us find ways to show more love and understanding toward others. The more you pray about it and the more you practice it, the easier it will get. Let's start today showing more compassion in the world and just see what happens! See what God can do with your life when you ask Him to use you to show His love to the people around you.
Let me end with this... I know we live in a tough world. We have all been through hard times. We are all "going through some things". As you go about your day or week try to keep this in mind... you do not know what the person in line behind you at the store is going through. That man on the street corner, you do not know his story. Before you judge any of those people, try to image yourself in their situation. Also, think of the hard times in your past. Whatever you have been through in your past someone else may be going through it today. Think about how it felt when someone helped you out during your hard times. Or how it might have felt if even one person took the time to show you some compassion...Then go show that compassion to someone else today. We know that the Lord works all things for the good of those who love him, [Romans 8:28] so whatever bad stuff you went through before might have given you the tools you need to help someone else now. Let God use you and your past to help someone else and their future. Take the love and compassion Christ had for you and show it to someone else today.
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ." 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 NIV
very well said! something we all need to read and think about.. especially me!
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