by David Taylor

cabletech1974@gmail.com

"And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude;
and He was moved with compassion for them, and
healed their sick." Matthew 14:14

People lately have been saying to me, Dave you seem diffferent these days. They ask what's going on.  I seem calm and nice. I tell them about compassion.

One of the most frequent phrases in the gospels is "Jesus
being moved with compassion..." I never counted the exact
number of times it occurs, but in listening to the Gospels on
tape it seems like it appears in almost every chapter. Jesus
would be tired and want to rest, then "being moved with
compassion" he continued to minister. He would need to
eat, but "being moved with compassion" he would feed the
5000 first. He would be going in one direction, but "being
moved with compassion" he changed his plans to teach,
heal or comfort.

We cannot have the mind of Christ and not be moved with
compassion. It is one of the defining characteristics of Jesus
life and ministry. In this phrase we see two components to
Christ-like compassion. The first is a feeling. The second
is an action.

To be compassionate, we must first feel the feelings of others.
The pain of my brother or sister, my neighbor, my coworkers,
fellow students and others around me must also be my pain.
Remember, the image of the body of Christ in "I Corinthians 12".
If I get up in the middle of the night and stub my toe in the darkness,
the rest of my body doesn't just say, "Oh well, that's the toe's
problem, let it take care of itself." No! The whole body reacts.
The brain coordinates action sending blood to the area to aid
healing and raising the temperature in the area. The feet and
legs modify how they walk to give the toe some rest. The eyes
examine the toe to see if the damage is serious. The fingers
hold the toe and test to see if it is broken.

So, it must be the same in the body of Christ. We must all
react to the pain of our brothers and sisters. We also need
to extend this compassion to the world at large. A hungry
child, an abused wife, a person trapped by addiction, a youth
caught up in the deception of a gang, a business executive
running to stand still in his business, a teenage girl unmarried
and pregnant. We cannot ignore these people, and we must
not condemn them. As someone once said, "The only time
to look down on anyone is when you are holding out a hand
to help them up."

Which brings us to the second component of "being moved
with compassion." That component is action. We don't simply
need to "feel" compassion for someone then go on our merry
way happy that it isn't us. What we need is to put legs to our
sympathy. When Jesus was moved with compassion, he got
busy. James tells us that if we just say, "Ah it's too bad you
are hungry and without clothing, be fed and be clothed" without
doing something about it our Christianity is really no good to
that person.

We must not only feel the pain of others, but we must also
do what we can to relieve that pain. So, here are some practical
ways to do this. First, pray for the person as you would pray for
your own need. Seek the face of God for that person's needs.
Second, ask yourself, what do I have that can help this other
person. If someone is without food, and you have a well stocked
pantry, why not sneak a box of food onto their doorstep, ring the
doorbell and slip away. Third, ask yourself, what can I do to help
this other person? Sometimes, the easiest thing we have to give
is material things, food, clothing, money, etc. It is often harder
to give of our time. If someone is facing an emotional crisis, can
you spend a few hours on the telephone with them listening,
comforting and praying with them? If someone's car is broken
down, can you give them a ride? If someone needs work done
around the house while they are recovering from an illness can
you donate some time to wash dishes and sweep the floor?

To be like Jesus, we must be "moved with compassion."
So, maybe it's time we rolled up our sleeves and got to
work. Amen and Amen.

Copyright David Taylor