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Compassion is generally sympathy and concern for those in need or rather those suffering and the desire to get rid of the suffering. The Hebrew and Greek translation of the word “Compassion” is being moved with sympathetic pity. The word Compassion is used to describe God Himself. 1 John 4:16, “God is the root and foundation, the spring and fountainhead, of all true compassion.” Micah 7:18-19 tells us that God does not retain His forever. Instead, he delights in faithful love.
“He cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.”
Just like a father shows Compassion to his kids, so does God offer Compassion to us who fear him. Jesus Christ is compassionate and sympathetic to the suffering of His children. Christ sees our distress and takes pity on our lives. Incredibly, His Compassion is more than just the usual sympathy. God’s Compassion combines His kindness, mercy, grace, love, patience, and forgiveness. Romans 9: 14-16 says that God’s Compassion drives Him to take action. Jehovah is not an impotent observer but an omnipotent ruler of the universe. His sympathy for our miserable and lost-state led Him to offer us His only begotten son to die for our sins, Ephesians 2: 1-10, Romans 5:8. Jesus Christ is God’s most gracious gift to humans. Only through faith in Jesus are we delivered from our sins and rescued from our disgraceful conditions.For God so loved the world! What satisfaction and Comfort! Thank God his unconditional love is free.
Everyone matters to Jesus Christ, but it is impressive when you read the gospel and find out how Christ has Compassion on a person in need at that particular time. There was one time when Jesus was preaching the gospel when a person suffering from leprosy came to Him, and the word tells us that this man’s leprosy was fully developed. He was an outcast and one of the “untouchables” in ancient times because there was no known cure for the disease.
The worst part was that those suffering from leprosy had to be isolated from their family, friends, and the community, not counting the physical distress that they were going through. The man had to be pushed out and live in the lonely and hot deserts where no one lived. “Leprosy” meant to be stricken by God. You can imagine how this man felt as he had to shout “unclean” to avoid making contact or rather being touched by others. The penalty for failure to shout “unclean” was stoning to death. I can’t help but imagine how long it had been since this person felt a warm human touch on his skin.
But, this man did not despair. Instead, he goes to Jesus Christ and kneels in front of Him and speaks one of the most unique and beautiful prayers in just nine words, ” if you are willing, you can make me clean.” What a perfect prayer! Often when you are in your greatest need, your prayer is usually concise, ” God, help me please, you know…” ” if you are willing, you can make me clean” is a perfect prayer since there are no complaints or demands. Instead, this man is throwing himself entirely on the will of Christ. The next verse tells us that Jesus looked at the man filled with Compassion, ” He reached out His hand and touched the man,” Mark 1:41. I cannot imagine how the bystanders were astonished. Touching a man with leprosy, nobody does that! Jesus then went on and did something much better and with simplicity, ” I am willing,” he said, “Be Clean!” Mark 1:4. Immediately, the man was cleansed of his leprosy. A simple prayer was replied with a powerful answer.
Have you ever felt like an outcast? Sometimes it can be because of our own fault, but sometimes it is not. Your family might not be understanding you, your co-workers are looking down on you, or your friends at school are making fun of you; I am sorry for that, but the good thing is that the answer that Jesus gives is that, ” I am willing, Be Clean!” People were shocked that Christ touched the leper, but I can’t help but imagine how much money they will be surprised that He is willing to touch you and me. Jesus has Compassion for us and came for us. Why did he take our sins with Him on the cross? It is because He truly loves us!
Jesus Christ has given us Christians the Holy Spirit to guide us and commanded us to follow his advice to be compassionate, Galatians 5:22-23. The way Jesus is compassionate to us, we must give back Compassion to others. We must have Jesus’s heart for the needy soul in the universe, His heart for the lost, poor, hurt, and wounded. The scripture is obvious that we cannot be void of Compassion and at the same time call ourselves Christians. Compassion is of great importance in demonstrating true faith in Christ. Love and Compassion are what identifies us as Christ’s disciples. I can ask that we pray that Jesus will forgive us when our hearts are cold and make fun of the Compassion in us that the Holy Spirit has given us.
Originally posted 2021-11-20 05:28:07.
