Bible Reading: Judges 16, 17, 18, Luke 7:1-25.
Memory Verse: “And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not.” Luke 7:13 (KJV)
Compassion is defined as sympathetic consciousness of others’ distress together with a desire to alleviate it. We can break down this definition into two parts. Firstly is sympathetic consciousness of another’s distress situation. This is empathetically identifying the challenges that other people are facing. The second is having a desire to alleviate the challenge. Some may have the first part by sympathetically identifying the challenges but may not have the desire to alleviate it though they may have the capacity to do so. So one needs to truly love others to show compassion towards them.
Jesus Christ exhibited this trait everytime he saw people in distress. In Matthew 9:35-36, Jesus preached the gospel of the kingdom and healed the sick in all cities and villages because he was moved with compassion. In Matthew 14:14-21, Jesus felt compassion for the multitude of people that came to meet him at the desert place and he did not only heal them but also fed them.
All through the scripture Jesus showed love by exhibiting his compassion for people. Now as a Christian, you should be compassionate towards others. You need to look at those around you facing challenges and empathize with them. In addition to empathy, you need to desire to solve those challenges. If you cannot meet it but you know others that can alleviate it, then you should make effort to bridge that gap by connecting the two. Thus Apostle Peter enjoined believers to be compassionate. 1 Peter 3:8 (KJV) says, “Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous:”. This is why anyone who closes his eyes to the needs of his brethren when he has capacity to help him/her does not have love. 1 John 3:17 (KJV) puts it this way, “But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?”
We should recognise that good deeds are always rewarded but it is important that such deeds should be done out of love and not based on expectation of reward or profit. When the Shunamitte woman gave food and shelter to Elisha, she was not expecting anything in return but God surprised her by giving her what money cannot buy, a child! Sometimes, what we are looking for are buried in our compassion. When we show that compassion to others, our need is met unexpectedly but when we refuse to show that compassion, we lose the opportunity of meeting that need!
Action point:
Make sure you show compassion to someone today.
Bro. Biodun Oyapero