Compassion

Compassion

John 11: ²⁸ And when she had said these things, she went her way and secretly called Mary her sister, saying, “The Teacher has come and is calling for you.” ²⁹ As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came to Him. ³⁰ Now Jesus had not yet come into the town, but was in the place where Martha met Him. ³¹ Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and comforting her, when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed her, saying, “She is going to the tomb to weep there.”

³² Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”

³³ Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled. ³⁴ And He said, “Where have you laid him?”

They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.”

³⁵ Jesus wept. ³⁶ Then the Jews said, “See how He loved him!”

³⁷ And some of them said, “Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?”

============

Without the scowl, my nemesis looked different this particular day. The air of arrogance was not there. Since I did not trust the guy, I did not listen to the voice inside that said “Go over to him and ask if there is anything you could do?” I passed on the moment. Later, I found out there was a death in his family.

• There have been times when I did not show compassion when I had the chance.
• There have been times when my I lost perspective on what I am supposed to be giving to people.
• There have been times when I was tired of my “kindness” being mistaken for “weakness.”

Mary came to JESUS weeping. She had a similar statement to Martha, only this time it was not laced with blame. “If YOU had been here, my brother would not have died.” The church people around her were crying “with” her. JESUS groaned in the SPIRIT. JESUS wept.

• JESUS wants me to show compassion to everyone HE sends me.
• JESUS wants me to express HIS love to those who annoy me.
• JESUS wants me to be “with” people HE send me to, no matter how different they are from me.

Compassion bubbles over from GOD’s heart. HE wants me to have a healthy portion of this. Instead of “Serves you right” when things go wrong in “that” person’s life, JESUS wants me to desire HIS peace to be placed in their heart. I can fill the hole in my heart with two things, hatred or love. I am grateful GOD chose love towards me.

• Who are you keeping your compassion from?
• Are you refusing to show compassion to “those” people because they look or act different?
• Will you drop your hatred for a moment to show compassion to the person who comes to mind right now?