The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy. The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works. Ps 145:8-9 KJV
I few years ago during a worship event the Lord opened my eyes to see angels marching. I saw a garrison of angelic soldiers moving alongside the saints of God. Clad in stone colored modern armor and beaming with eyes of red fire, as they entered the meeting, I was in awe of their strength and unity. As I looked more closely at them I noticed their stalwart faces were weeping. They stood upright and mobilized while their faces each had tears flowing down them. Meditating on this scene I heard, “It’s time for a war of compassion.”
Compassion is a sense of shared suffering, most often combined with a desire to alleviate or reduce such suffering; to show special kindness to those who suffer. (Wikipedia) Compassion is a willingness to lay aside our own wants and extend a helping hand to others because we somehow feel their pain. It comes out of a heart truly surrendered to God and truly listening to His feelings. If we look at the world around us with the mind of Christ, we will be moved to compassion at every glance.
When Jesus ministered, it was often compassion that lead Him to heal the sick, cast out the demons, and raise the dead. Matthew 14:14 says, “And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick.” Our Lord’s heart was broken to see people living with sickness and disease. It hurt Him to see those people in that state. So His first response was empathy and His second was a demonstration of that empathy—healing.
Like Jesus we must choose to go out and entertain sinners, prostitutes, and thieves. We must be ready to love the unlovely, and enter into an ugly world that “good” Christians often abandon. As we step down to where the rubber meets the road, we must go with our hearts wide open—with a chest laid bare. And that, my friends, is the hardest part, but also the part that results in transformation. We’ve got to be willing to say, “God, what do You feel when you see these hurting children? And what do you want me to do about it?”
In these moments we deny ourselves. We deny our identities, our wants, our immaturities, and we allow His light to shine. We allow His nature to break through and infect the world around us. And in doing so, we become a weapon in His hand.
When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, "Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. Mark 8:34-35
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