Compassion Costs Us Something - Invest Your Compassion

Hey Church Family:  What is compassion?

And when the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her (Luke 7:13).  So… what is this compassion that Jesus experienced?  

Compassion is simply taking the pain of other people into your own heart and letting it move you to do something about their pain.  Making their pain your pain.  Making your neighbor’s pain your pain.

We are recipients of this compassion from Jesus Christ.  Jesus has compassion for us.  Jesus makes our pain His pain.  Jesus’ compassion is rooted in His love for us.  He deeply, passionately and profoundly cares for us.  When we hurt – He hurts.  When we grieve – He grieves.  During Jesus’ life on this earth He healed people simply because of His compassionate love for them in their affliction.  Their pain became His pain.  Page after page throughout the New Testament we see Jesus’ compassion moving Him to action.  His compassion moved Him to do things.  His compassion is always seen resulting in ministering to people in their time of need.  He continues to live with compassion towards us.  We know and are promised that Jesus Christ never changes.  He is in no less compassionate today than He was in the first century.   He is the same yesterday, today and forever.  Just because Jesus is now glorified at the right hand of the Father does not mean that He has changed His heart or attitude about you and me.  Jesus still remains steadfastly compassionate towards all of our hardships, weaknesses, and sufferings.
 
Jesus calls us today to have the same compassionate hearts as He does.  He says go and know the pains of other’s and make that pain your pain so much so that it moves you to do acts of compassion to relieve that pain.  Just like Jesus’ compassion was costly, costing Him His life.  We are to understand that the compassion that we are called to exercise is costly.  It is costly not just in money spent but also in discomfort experienced, time allocated away from your own pleasures, exposure to uncomfortable situations, and an overall feeling of being overwhelmed by all the pains of others.  But here is the great news… the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ will enable you to minister effectively through compassionate relationships.  Another promise is that compassion is always an investment in eternity.  Compassionate works have great returns in Christ before our Holy Compassionate Father in heaven.  

Another very important observation about Jesus is that His compassion took place within relationships.  Our relationships with others are essential to the compassionate work of Christ that we are called to incarnate, make visible, here on earth.  Strive to bust out of the mundane-casual-relationship conversation for the purpose of being able to identify with one another’s sufferings.  Then let the Holy Spirit’s work of compassion in you strive to meet the needs of others.

Colossians 3:12  Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts…

I look forward to some compassionate fellowship and passionate worship with you this Sunday - Steve