Word of the Week: Compassion

WOW: Compassion
Have you ever read something that tugged at your heartstrings and left you feeling grateful and is a reminder of God’s grace to you? On Oct 8^th in the Dallas Morning News there was an article on a homeless man whose life had been turned upside down. He was known affectionately as the “mayor” of a village of cardboard shacks living under a bridge on Interstate 45 for the last 15 yrs. The article tugged at your heart as you read of this man’s life, going from prosperity to poverty. But all that changed on Oct 8^th as he became the newest resident of a new “village” to house homeless people with the sole purpose to help them get back on their feet. He has been given a second chance. How did it happen? It took just one individual, a man who at one time thought life was all about “him” but God grabbed his heart and transformed his life. Now this individual takes time to deliver peanut butter sandwiches and befriend the homeless, one of whom was the “mayor”. As he visited, he learned that this person had seen the hypocrisy of many and thus it took him 6 yrs to alter this perception. How was he able to do that? He demonstrated one key element: the compassionate love of Christ. Compassion means to reach out to someone in need and meet that need; it means you step out of your comfort zone and reach into the heart of one, putting aside all cultural boundaries and see this person in God’s eyes and remind yourself that one day you may stand next to him/her in eternity.

As we read the gospels we are touched with the compassionate spirit of Christ as He reached across the boundaries to heal a man’s withered hand or heal a leper. In sharp contrast we are given a view of the uncompassionate hearts of the religious leaders who sought to accuse Jesus for healing on the Sabbath. He challenged them to think about what is the principle of the Sabbath rule. Is it to wait when there is a need or to meet the need when it arises? Mark writes that Jesus was “grieved at the hardness of their hearts” and spoke these words to them: Matt 12:7 “If you had known what this means: ‘I want mercy (compassion) and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.” Jesus reminded these religious leaders that although they knew the rules/standards for righteousness they lacked a key element: compassion towards those in need. So where will you step outside your comfort zone today and show Christ’s compassionate spirit? Who in your sphere of influence is in need? Who needs to hear the words of the Hymn “Wonderful Words of Life”?