Compassion is a word that carries a great deal of meaning for the Christian. Jesus was a man of compassion. When people are hurting, they need the compassion of others. Do we have trouble seeing the needs of hurting people?
Sometimes a kind word, a gentle smile, or taking a casserole over to a hurting family demonstrates the love of God more emphatically than the best sermon in the world. It takes having our Father’s eyes to see the needs of those around us.
As a teenager, my sister and I rode a bus everyday to high school. There was a girl our age who had lost her mother to cancer. She wanted to hang around with us, but she was a little over weight and didn’t dress very well. We really didn’t want to be her friend. We were not unkind, but we didn’t make any effort to befriend her.
After I graduated from high school, I went into nurses training. One of my rotations was to the San Antonio State Hospital. On my first day there, I saw this girl. She was a patient in the psychiatric hospital. Her presence really convicted me of my lack of compassion. What if my sister and I had befriended this girl? Would it have made a difference in her life?
We never know when an opportunity to share God’s love and compassion will come our way, but we must be ready and willing to have our Father’s eyes and take advantage of it.
Memory Verse:
“Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble.”
– 1 Peter 3:8 (NIV)
Prayer Prompt:
“Dear God, open my eyes to the hurting people all around me. Help me to know how to meet their needs in a way that will demonstrate Christian love. Keep me from doing anything that would not reflect well on the family of God. Bring to my mind the people that You would like me to show compassion to…”
Contributing Writer:
Ann Cornelius
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