Tag: compassion

Ministry Means Care & Compassion

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(Mark 6:30-34)

“I don’t care.” The meaning attached to those words can vary, depending on the circumstances under which they’re spoken. They are spoken when it comes to avoiding having to make a decision. “There are plenty of options, just choose one, and I’m good with any of them. I don’t care which one.” Those words can also be spoken to convey that a certain issue doesn’t matter to one person as much as it does to another.

Whatever the context, the one place we want to avoid those words is when it comes to ministry, because meaningful ministry means caring; it means having compassion. We see that care and compassion expressed in different ways in the short verses from Mark 6. 

We’ll start with the most obvious way Jesus demonstrated compassion, highlighted by the Gospel writer Mark in how he sets the scene and builds tension that needs to be resolved. Jesus and his disciples had been putting the pedal to the metal, ministry-wise, and they needed some down time. As they stepped out of the limelight briefly to recalibrate, Mark sets up some potential conflict. “But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them” (v.33). Jesus and the disciples needed rest, and the crowds that had tracked them down threatened that. How would Jesus and the disciples respond?

Jesus and the his apostles were in need of food and rest, and they made a deliberate attempt to step away for a bit to find it. But no sooner had they found it then the crowds once again found them! So much for a little R&R! Knowing how irritable we can become when we get hangry, it would have come as no surprise to see the apostles flare up and shoo the crowds away for a bit. Or, even a polite request for some alone time would have been completely understandable.

It should be no surprise to us at that Jesus showed how much he cared. “When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things” (v.34). This is ministry. This is what gospel-geared, Savior-like service looks like in action. Meaningful ministry is not driven by convenience, but by compassion.

That means ministry is not limited to normal business hours. Since ministry is serving people and addressing their spiritual needs, those situations may arise at any time. When they do, we don’t shut the door and ask someone to come back during normal business hours. No, we serve as we’re able to, when we’re able to. 

Jesus’ compassionate heart got the better of him. He couldn’t turn them away, for when he looked, he didn’t see a bunch of time-sucking vampires always in need and draining him physically, mentally, and emotionally. Instead, he saw sheep without a shepherd. So, as the Good Shepherd, he sought to give these shepherdless sheep, these aimless wanderers who didn’t know what they didn’t know, the priceless gift of the Scriptures. He taught them timeless truths that would open their eyes to see Jesus as both their Good Shepherd and the perfect Lamb of God, who came to take away the sins of the world. 

How desperately we all need such a compassionate Savior! And not only because we need someone to care so deeply about us, but also because we need someone to care so deeply about others in our place. Even the most tender-hearted and compassionate among us fails to reach the level of perfect concern that Jesus has in his heart for all people. So to see him not only patiently put up with the crowds hunting him down like paparazzi, but to genuinely long to meet their needs – Jesus is out of our league! Jesus is what we are not. His righteousness is demonstrated through his untainted, selfless concern for his neighbor. How essential for our salvation that in Jesus we don’t just have the Savior we need from sin, but also the Substitute who characterized compassion so beautifully for us. 

Oh to view people in need the same way! Instead, we so easily see people as a hindrance to the task at hand. When my plans are put on hold or scrapped altogether because of someone else’s time of need, I don’t look at myself and see the compassion Jesus demonstrates here. Instead, the audible huffing and puffing of reluctance and resentment or the snarky jab that accompanies my begrudging service are much more common. Jesus saw people in need and his heart ached; we see people in need and are annoyed. 

Imagine if Jesus harbored similar sentiments in his heart toward people in need – no way would he ever have made it to the cross! By that point he would have been sick and tired of serving all the needy souls that chased him down! Then, to take it to another level and be tortured and crucified for the same lot of destitute crowds? Not a chance… if it was you or me in that position.

Thankfully, it wasn’t. It was Jesus. Caring Jesus. Compassionate Jesus. Always, at all times. For us, no matter how much in need we may ever find ourselves to be.

And you know exactly what he longs to do with that compassion which he extends to us; he desires to express it through us to others in need. Ministry that is meaningful takes into account what is meaningful to my neighbor in his time of need. It sacrifices my own wants and plans and preferences when care and compassion for others overrides everything else. When compassion calls us to meet physical needs, we do what we can. When those needs are emotional, we support as we’re able. When those needs are spiritual, we jump at the opportunity to point the lost and the hurting to their healing, caring, compassionate Savior.

Jesus didn’t just show care and compassion to the crowds in this account, but also to his coworkers. Remember, it was the needs of his coworkers in ministry that prompted Jesus and the disciples to get away in the first place. Jesus cared about their physical well-being, too. “Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, ‘Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.’ So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place” (v.31-32). While it is absolutely the most rewarding thing we ever get to be a part of, that doesn’t mean ministry is easy. It isn’t, always. It can be exhausting. It can be draining. It can include long days. So we need to be aware of that for each other, as most of us here aren’t full or even part-time paid coworkers, but volunteers. 

There is of course the personal ministry that we carry out in our daily lives, but there is also the congregational ministry that goes on. We want to be sensitive to that for each other, so that we don’t discourage taking care of one’s self or including margin in our schedules. And when you do serve in some capacity, you must always know that it’s good and wise to say no, too, when necessary. Even when it comes to ministry, God has created our bodies and souls to need breaks, to need rest, to need restoration. Let’s make sure we’re giving that to each other, especially because sometimes, as we see this in this account from Mark, that rest can be rather short-lived!

We actually see the final example of care and compassion first in Mark’s introductory description of this account. Those sent by Jesus to carry out meaningful ministry were now reporting on that ministry, and Jesus cared enough to listen. “The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught” (v.30).

There are really two takeaways here: first, when we carry out meaningful ministry, a trust has been given to us. Since God calls us to carry out this work faithfully, we are responsible for holding ourselves accountable to others. Most often that takes the form of some sort of reporting, either formally or informally. If you belong to a church that has called a pastor to serve you with the gospel, you have every right to hold him accountable in carrying out that ministry. Just as the apostles did to Jesus, so also pastors report all that they are doing and have done in ministry.

You, too, are accountable for participating in this ministry as well. That is, after all, one of the most significant reasons we join a church – to use our gifts to participate in ministry.

Church membership isn’t like a trip to Costco, where I am solely a consumer filling my cart with more things than I need. You aren’t responsible for stocking the shelves at Costco. You don’t check out customers or scan their receipts. At Costco you are simply a customer.

But church is not Costco! At church you are a customer and a coworker. So when you take up a task, when you are involved in ministry, a part of that means caring enough to be held accountable to do what you said you were going to do.

That’s the first takeaway – reporting and accountability.

The second is simply that Jesus listened. They were reporting to Jesus what they had done. Now when you picture this taking place, do you imagine Jesus being the hardline boss, waiting to jump down the throat of us his employees? Probably not. More likely, he listened and offered encouraging feedback and direction to use the opportunity as a teachable moment to equip them for future ministry. 

We can do the same! When we are willing to serve in some official capacity as we carry out our ministry together, this is no small thing to which we have agreed! We are agreeing to give our best for the best, and rather than holding to the “they should be grateful I’m serving” attitude, we want to be eager to provide updates and progress. And on the other side, we want to eagerly hear such reports, so that we might encourage and uplift each other in service, and offer assistance or guidance whenever it’s needed.

Those serving care enough to hold themselves accountable, and those to whom they report care enough to listen and provide support. While it’s not the big picture idea from these verses, it is one more way that meaningful ministry involves caring for each other.

Meeting the needs of others is not the occasional good deed that we’re willing to do when we put “real” ministry on pause; meeting the needs of others is the ministry, the gospel-geared, Savior-like service to which we’re called. It isn’t an inconvenience; it’s our calling. It isn’t a hindrance to getting ministry done; it is how ministry is done as we serve to open doors through compassion that ultimately permit us to point others to their compassionate Christ. 

Is now a good time to consider how your congregation might extend the reach of care and compassion to more in the community? Could care and compassion be a calling card of your congregation? Could you offer grief support or a resiliency ministry for those struggling with addictions? Could you partner with other community organizations already involved in such things to enhance what is already being done?

We don’t have to look very far to see outlets for care and compassion. Could we put Jesus’ care and compassion into practice by meeting more of those needs? Meaningful Ministry is service that is willing to ask those questions and to provide answers as the Lord enables us to. May the Lord grant us such willing spirits.

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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To Meet the Needs of Others

Loving Lord,
When you retreated with the disciples for recovery and rest from your labors, that time was short-lived; the crowds tracked you down, and they brought their cares and concerns with them. In your compassion you did not turn them away, but gave them what was most important by teaching them the truths that would serve them eternally.

I ask for that same spirit of compassion toward others. Too often I find myself irritated by others when they approach me or seek to interact with me as I am simply trying to go about my business. I see them as an obstacle rather than an opportunity. Forgive me and help me to change that. Give me your selfless heart for others, a heart that welcomes them and is willing to drop everything to meet their needs however I am able. Fill me with the compassion to be able to identify the needs of others, so that I can love, serve, and bless them whenever those needs arise. 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

The Church Clings to Christ

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(Exodus 34:5-9)

The sender’s name in your email inbox is someone you know, but the email itself sounds fishy. Something doesn’t feel right about it. You know the person well enough that you can’t imagine they’d be asking you to open the weird-sounding file that is attached, click on a link to a picture to confirm it’s you, or send them some money because they’re stranded somewhere while traveling. Then you look closer, not at the name of the sender, but at the actual email address from which it came, and realize it’s gibberish. That confirms it – someone using a spam email address was pretending to be someone you knew. 

And it isn’t just email – it’s voicemails that sound like urgent notifications requiring an immediate response. It’s texts from unknown numbers not in your contact list that are looking to strike up a random conversation. Some sound more legit than others, so how do you know which ones are real and which ones are fake? How do you know which ones you can trust and which ones are setting you up for fraud or something worse? Even if you know what signs or indicators give them away, it isn’t always easy to tell who’s the real deal and who isn’t.

Churches can be the same way. As we continue our series focusing on the church God wants, it’s one thing to know what God wants for his church, but it’s another to be able to determine which churches can be relied on to serve that God, the true God, and not some fraud or look-alike pretender. But what happens when a church serves a fraudulent version of God, an imposter, a pretender? That church may claim to worship the true God, but how can we know? 

We look first to where God has revealed himself to us so that we can know what he is like: his Word. “[The Lord] passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, ‘The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin” (v.6-7). The next time someone says there’s no gospel in the Old Testament and that it’s all law, direct them to this description of the Lord! It is a flood of grace and love! It’s a picture of God that no other religion comes even remotely close to capturing. This is the true God and how the true God wishes to be known. 

While God revealing himself like this is amazing on its own, it stands out even more when we consider his timing in choosing when to reveal himself this way.

God was going to be giving Moses the Ten Commandments a second time. Stop and think about how the world typically operates when laws or rules are given. Authority is flexed. Punishments are threatened. Consequences are emphasized. The effectiveness of the law is based on one thing: fear. So to give it teeth, we make sure those on the receiving end of any laws are very clear on what they need to be afraid of happening to them if they break the rules. That’s how we operate. But not God.

In addition to knowing what God was about to do, also remember what had already happened. Why was God needing to give the Ten Commandments to Moses a second time? If you’re familiar with your history, then you remember what happened to the original set of tablets when Moses came down the mountain the first time: he smashed them to pieces at the sight he witnessed.

There, fresh off their miraculous deliverance from slavery in Egypt by God’s hand, were the Israelites rallying around and revering a hunk of metal shaped like a cow. They were worshipping a golden calf rather than the true God who had just delivered them from a fanatical pharaoh and his army! Being on the receiving end of that level of disrespect, God would have been completely justified in instantly eliminating the Israelites. 

Instead, he revealed himself as “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin” (v.6-7). Compassionate. Gracious. Slow to anger. Abounding in love and faithfulness and maintaining it. Forgiving. These are the calling cards of the true God.

The police sketch artist might help out in a case by speaking with witnesses or officers to attempt to draw a likeness of an alleged criminal to help law enforcement or legal counsel know who to focus on. That sketch artist will take the various descriptions provided by others and use them to sketch out an image that reflects the suspect. In order to sketch an accurate likeness, however, he needs some sort of description on which to base it.

We have in these verses a description from the Lord himself of what to look for if we’re trying to identify the true God. This is what he looks like!

And boy does this description stand out! Compassion and grace are so often MIA in our world when it comes to the plight of those experiencing disaster or distress. “They should have known better. They should have been more careful. They should have made better choices.” We forget that all of those things could be true, but they still don’t relieve us of our responsibility to compassionately care for our neighbor in his need. 

Instead of our anger getting slower and slower, our fuse keeps getting shorter and shorter. Rather than a flood of love and faithfulness, there seems to be a drought of it. We struggle to maintain our loving commitment to one person – our spouse – let alone maintaining love to thousands. We don’t long to see more forgiveness for wickedness and rebellion, but rather more punishment.

How much all of these qualities of God stand out in a world that is without them!

And not just a world that is without them, but our own hearts. Not only do we see so few of these qualities around us; we also lack them within us. That’s when we realize how much the world needs a God who is all of these things that it is not. That’s when we realize how much we need a God who is all of these things that we are not. 

Moses realized that, too. “‘Lord,’ he said, ‘if I have found favor in your eyes, then let the Lord go with us. Although this is a stiff-necked people, forgive our wickedness and our sin, and take us as your inheritance’” (v.9). Moses didn’t ask God to forgive their sins, but our sin. He included himself among the stiff-necked and wicked. He pleaded for God’s people as well as himself. He appealed to all of the qualities that God had just revealed about himself and asked to be treated, not on the basis of his own behavior, but on the basis of God’s benevolence.

So it isn’t just “the church” that needs the true God; we do. It isn’t just the church that needs all of those qualities; we do. It isn’t just the church that can only stand if God’s forgiveness and faithfulness are its foundation; we can only stand with his forgiveness and faithfulness.

And we know that we have it, because we have Christ. We know what compassion looks like, because we know Jesus. We experience what grace means, because we experience Jesus. We know what forgiveness feels like, because we know Jesus. We know what abounding love looks like, because we know Jesus. The church that God wants is the church that clings to Christ. Therefore, the people that make up the church that God wants, are people who cling to Christ.

Do you know what that means? It means all Jesus, all the time. I don’t mean for you to go out and make it weird, but rather make it so regular that it isn’t weird at all.

Jesus is in my marriage. Jesus is at the forefront of parenting my children with patience and grace. Jesus is the filter in all my friendships. Jesus is how I see my enemy in a different light. Jesus is why I am drawn to those in need and want to help. Jesus is who I yearn for my unbelieving neighbor to know. Jesus’ kingdom and its significance is why I can temper my passions for worldly and political kingdoms. Jesus is why I can control my anger.

Jesus is… everything, all the time. Not just occasionally. Not just when we’re talking religion. Not just when I’m surrounded by other Christians. The church God wants – the people God wants – cling to Christ all the time. 

Of all the characteristics of God listed in this description, most are quite familiar, but I want to draw attention to one particular phrase that I think is hugely important for us to understand in the church God wants: it’s God’s “maintaining love to thousands” (v.7). When we think of many earthly infatuations or interests, they so often start off strong, but then fizzle or fade away. The things we thought we loved or couldn’t live without are forgotten. 

But not God’s love for us. He maintains that love. He keeps it going. It is sustained on an ongoing basis and will not die out or run out.

When we gather for worship on Sunday mornings, we see all the different ways. Our whole worship is centered on his Word, from the opening Invocation to the closing Blessing and everything in-between. That is Jesus maintaining his love for us.

When we have a baptism, there God’s love is so clearly on display that he graciously brings a helpless infant into his family through the loving promises of his Word poured out along with the water.

Then we have the Lord’s Supper, as we will celebrate shortly, where Jesus gives to us his very body and blood to remind us of his sacrifice, point us to the price he paid, and assure us that his love flows most freely through his limitless forgiveness. God maintains his love for thousands – for his church, for you – through the work that he does every time we gather together in his house. 

But… what about the part of these verses that describe a God who “does not leave the guilty unpunished…” (v.7)? Shouldn’t that terrify us? Shouldn’t that worry us?

No, not one little bit! For you, Christian, are not guilty. You are in Christ. Since Christ took our guilt on himself, along with the punishment it deserved, all who are in Christ are not guilty.

So how do we tell if the god of any given church is a fraud or a fake? We listen for Jesus. And when we hear him, we listen for more than just an example to follow or a model Christian that we should all strive to be more like. We listen for a Savior. And then we cling to him. That’s the kind of church God wants.

“Habits of His Grace: Compassion”

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(Luke 13:31-35)

To faithfulness and determination on our list of habits of his grace, today we add compassion. What is compassion? Compassion changes people. It can change the way we look at others and treat them. Compassion can change those receiving it. It can change those extending it to others. 

Author Stephen Covey, in his book Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, shared a personal experience of his.He recalled one subway trip on a Sunday morning that was a rather quiet, uneventful ride. That ended when a man with obnoxious and loud children got on. As his children were being disruptive and terribly misbehaved, much to the annoyance of the rest of the crowd in the subway, the man himself seemed clueless and irresponsibly uncaring about his children’s behavior. That only made the whole situation even more disturbing to everyone else in the subway car. When he had determined enough was enough, the author turned to the man and, pointing out his children’s inappropriate behavior, asked if the father would intervene and do something about it. The man came to attention, as if he had been lost entirely in another place. He apologetically explained that he and his children had just come from the hospital where about an hour ago their mother had died, and he supposed that he and the children weren’t sure how to deal with it. In an instant, the author explained that frustration and irritation were washed away by a flood of compassion. It brought about a complete shift in perspective, away from selfish personal annoyance to an earnest desire to offer any assistance whatsoever to serve the man in his moment of need. Compassion changed everything. 

As Jesus provides us with the framework to explore this habit of his grace today, here is what I hope we take away: that in our reflection on compassion, we give a good amount of thought to the tension that exists between feelings and action as they pertain to compassion. Furthermore, depending on how we might be inclined to weigh in on that discussion right now, can we have a better understanding not only of the difference, but also of how we might personally need to lean one way or the other (more feeling or more action) in striving for more compassion in our lives? 

The root definition of compassion is “to suffer together.” While we think of it as an emotion or feeling that we experience when seeing someone else suffer, it’s a fair question to ask if one can truly suffer with another without any action being taken. Suppose each night for a week a different needy person knocked on your door asking for any food you could spare. While your heart went out to them each time, you explained that you were just not in any position to help them. As you later retell that story to someone else and explain how much compassion you felt toward those people in need, but that you didn’t do anything to help any of them, how convinced would the person listening be that your compassion was genuine? Isn’t it fair to say that as we describe ourselves, feelings of compassion are justified as sufficient, but as we look at others, frankly we’re not all that convinced unless their feelings lead to some sort of action? 

I don’t know if it’s unique to me or if many of us tend to do it, but I have found myself being sure to point out my good thoughts, intentions, or feelings to my wife and others, even – or maybe especially! – when I didn’t actually do anything. “I was going to” or “I thought about,” is then of course followed by some effort at providing an understandable, legitimate-in-my-own-mind reason for not actually doing the thing. Does “I was going to take out the trash” count the same as actually doing it? Is “I wanted to fix that clogged drain” pretty much the same thing as unclogging the drain? I think we know the answer. 

Actually, I suppose we acknowledge this must be a pretty common thing, as we have an expression that lets us off the hook a bit, right? “It’s the thought that counts.” But is it? Especially in our culture today, people are not satisfied with thoughts or good intentions. The only thing that is acceptable is when any action is taken. While this isn’t really the place to discuss social activism, it does raise a fair question about how genuine compassion really comes across if not accompanied by action. How much am I really “suffering with” someone else via feelings or emotions? Does compassion require action?

Do you notice something about compassion when we look at it in the life of Jesus? Compassion as Jesus demonstrated it resulted in action. Every time. In fact, at no point in any of the Gospels do we come across the word “compassion” in connection with Christ that doesn’t involve him doing something. The Gospel writers point out that Jesus felt compassion… and then describe what he proceeded to do. So while the literal definition of compassion is “suffering together,” what we see in Jesus are demonstrations that show the extent of his compassion by virtue of the action that follows. He had compassion on the hungry crowds, so he fed them (Mt. 15:32ff). He had compassion on people who were like sheep without a shepherd, so he taught them (Mk. 6:34). He had compassion on the sick and demon-possessed, so he healed them (Mt. 14:14). He had compassion on the blind, so he gave them sight (Mt. 20:34). Do you catch the theme? Compassion produces action. Say it with me: compassion produces action.

But… not just any action. And here’s where else compassion becomes a tricky thing. Suppose we are convinced that compassion produces action. What action? And for whose benefit? Here’s why we have to wrestle with it: if I am not careful, those good feelings that flow from compassion (Did you know studies reveal that experiencing the feeling of compassion does in fact release what we refer to as the “bonding chemical,” oxytocin?), may merely lead me to take action that makes me feel better. In other words, if the action that results from compassion is merely action that makes me feel better, but doesn’t really meet the need of the person for whom I feel compassion, am I really serving that person, or am I just serving myself?  

Let me explain with an example I believe I have shared before. Two years ago in this same month on a Friday, a young homeless man had come on to the property while hot lunch was being prepared for the school kids. Since we are very cautious about strangers on the property while school is in session, I engaged the young man and began talking with him on the bench outside the church entry. While there were some signs of mental and cognitive issues and a little paranoia, after several hours I got to know his name, his story, and he even showed me his Facebook profile. The longer we sat together, the more I found myself internally frustrated by the fact that this was not how I had planned to spend my day off. Finally, I started to explore how we could help, thinking the sooner I can move him along, the sooner I can get back to my day off. The usual offerings came to mind, so I asked if he needed food or clothes, or if there was someplace I could take him. Then he told me what he really needed, and that’s when I was faced with the ugly reality that my offer to help him was really an effort on my part to wrap up the inconvenience he was causing me. What did he need? A shower. A washing machine to wash his clothes. That was when I was convicted. I realized that while I had the ability to provide him with both of those, I wasn’t really interested in meeting his needs, but rather my need, my desire to be rid of him while convincing myself I did something nice for him. After thinking it through and realizing that my wife was working and the kids were at school, leaving our house empty, he spent the next couple of hours getting a shower and washing his clothes. After a meal and contacting a family member, I later took him to the trolley station to get where he needed to go. 

I had compassion on him, but never had I been so convicted that my compassion was extremely limited. It was defined more by what I was comfortable with than what he actually needed. I wasn’t interested in compassion that produced action in service to him, but rather in service to me. Now that does not mean that everyone would or even should do the same thing in that situation. Not at all. There would be some very legitimate reasons for another compassionate Christian not showing compassion the same way. The point is this: compassion does not necessarily start by asking what others would do in this situation, or even what I should do, but rather “What does this person need from me right now?” 

That was what was always on Jesus’ mind: what does this person need from me right now? And while his compassion didn’t hesitate to take action to address immediate needs, his heart was always set on meeting the most important need. Even when it came to his enemies. Whatever their intention truly was behind warning Jesus about Herod – whether they had ulterior motives for speeding up his demise in Jerusalem, or because they were genuinely trying to help Jesus avoid the same fate as John the Baptist – Jesus’ compassion poured out in his heartfelt response to them. “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing” (v.34). And even their own rejection of him was not enough to sidetrack Jesus’ faithful determination to do what he was born to do! “In any case, I must press on today and tomorrow and the next day—for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem! (v.33). Compassion produces action. Faithful, determined Jesus would take action; he would suffer and die.

It’s interesting isn’t it – “compassion” has the word “Passion” in it? We refer to the final week of this season of Lent as Holy Week or Passion Week. That final Sunday, Palm Sunday, is sometimes also referred to as Passion Sunday. Why do we attach this label to that final Sunday and week of Jesus’ life? Because of his suffering that took place, his Passion. So Jesus’ compassion toward us would be of little value if it didn’t also include his Passion for us. It was his compassion that prompted his Passion, his suffering. Jesus wasn’t just about empty words for you. He wasn’t just about feelings or emotions regarding your situation. Jesus was about action – specifically, suffering, dying, and rising again for your sin and salvation. His compassion prompted him to carry out the one course of action that only he could, the one course of action that we all universally need, the one course of action that alone could serve to reconcile rebellious sinners with a righteous Father. Jesus’ heartfelt compassion carried him to the cross. 

Have you noticed something yet about the three habits of his grace that we have looked at so far yet? They all have that in common. They all end up at the same place: the cross. Faithfulness, determination, compassion – all of them meet up at the cross. And guess what? Spoiler alert: so do the remaining three habits of his grace. 

How then, do we establish in our own lives this compassion, this habit of his grace? We start by letting go of the lie, “It’s the thought that counts.” If we’re honest with ourselves, we’ve been far too comfortable living with that lie for far too long. Let’s either let it go, or at least be honest with ourselves that when we’re not willing to allow compassion to produce action, then it’s not really compassion. It might be sympathy or empathy, but it’s not compassion, because compassion produces action. And that’s OK – there is a time for empathy and a time for sympathy! Just realize they’re different from compassion. 

So how does the Holy Spirit work this habit of his grace into our hearts and lives more and more? Each time we must begin our journey of compassion at the cross and go from there. We start with the compassion Christ had for us. Then, as we leave his cross and look to pick up ours as faithful, determined disciples look to do, our eyes will suddenly see myriad ways to carry out compassion toward others, and the Holy Spirit will help us to see how he has enabled and equipped us in such a variety of ways not just to feel, but to act. Not out of guilt – remember Christ’s compassion removed that! – but out of real, genuine compassion. It changes us when we receive it. It will change others when we extend it.