Living Compassion
Compassion (noun): sympathetic consciousness of others' distress together with a desire to alleviate it. That's what Merriam-Webster has to say about compassion.
To state the definition another way, compassion could be described as - a concerned awareness of someone else's pain and suffering with a wish to lessen their pain and suffering.
We experience compassion internally as a reaction to a struggle we see someone else going through. It is ultimately an inwardly feeling that rises in our hearts and causes us to pause in consideration of the other person's current reality.
I feel one of the most valuable attributes a Christian can possess is that of a compassionate heart. However, in today's relational climate, we see an ever-widening gap between the opinions of persons from all walks of life.
As that gap widens, we can find that our hearts begin feeling less, and less, compassion for those with opinions differing from ours. We can easily find ourselves perched upon a seat of judgement that says, "Well, you get what you deserve." As compassion slips from our hearts, we begin to lose the ability to show God's grace and mercy to those around us.
Remember the part of the Bible that tells us to have an opinion about everything? Yeah – me neither. We don't remember it because it is never an instruction given to us. We do receive this instruction, "Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done." Philippians 4:6 NLT
We do not need to have an opinion on everything, but we are to pray about everything. If you remember nothing else from today's post, I hope that you can catch this one-liner:
Opinions are where compassion goes to die.
As followers of Christ, we are to seek wisdom and should be able to discern good from evil, and we need to be able to identify what is prosperous for our souls over what is destructive. We are to evaluate everything by the word of the Lord.
The catch?
We are to do all of that through a lens of love and compassion. We have to ask ourselves if opinions are ruling our hearts or if compassion is ruling our hearts.
The other challenge as a follower of Christ is what to do with the compassion once it builds up in our hearts. Compassion is a noun. It is a thing we feel in response to the grief and affliction of those around us.
After cultivating a heart of compassion and allowing that compassion to rise above all of the opinions spewing from our hearts, we then have one more thing to evaluate.
Is the compassion in my heart dead or alive?
When compassion swells in your heart, what is your response?
When you see the elderly person struggling with their groceries, and pity their situation, do you climb into your vehicle and leave, or do you assist them in their struggle? It is simply not enough for us to have compassion for others.
Compassion without action is dead.
Once we have cultivated a compassionate heart, we need to turn that compassion into action. In today's world, if we are going to bring the love of Christ to the darkest places, we MUST lay our opinions down and bring life to the compassion in our hearts by allowing it to motivate us to action in service to those around us.
As Christians, we need to fight for what we believe in, but we need to remember who the real enemy is.
Because of Jesus, none of us is "getting what we deserve." Therefore, let us be quick to jump off our thrones of judgement and jump into the service of others. When we do, we will see that the love of Christ is more powerful at effecting change than our opinions ever will be.
I feel this is a message that the world needs to hear right now, and if you agree, I ask that you share this message either by forwarding it to a friend or sharing it to your social accounts.
I don't usually ask that my posts be shared, but I feel this is a strong word the Lord wants His children to hear in these times.
God bless you and keep you!
