“He has made His wonderful works to be remembered;
The Lord is gracious and full of compassion.” -Psalm 111:4
Recently, my family and I encountered a mountain that was terribly hard to climb in our own strength. We needed God to carry us through. And, He did just that, He carried us in a number of ways. Some ways were precious miracles directly from His own hands. Other ways were by using people; people who were willing to put aside whatever they may have had going on to extend to us the love of God: meals, baby-sitting, prayers, snacks, waiting, flying in to help, adjusting schedules, texting Scriptures, wiping tears, more prayer. Honestly, the list goes on and on, and those are the things I know about. I imagine there were many other God-orchestrated events where He used people to show our family His love.
Humbling. Overwhelming. Grateful. Compassion.
We were blessed through this trial to experience the gift of compassion over and over again. Compassion moves you to act, it drives you to do something to lessen the burden of another, to help ease their pain. Compassion causes you to flood the throne of Grace in fervent prayer, it challenges you to be the hands and feet of Jesus right here on Earth, doing and going in order to meet the need of another.
Part of what I’m learning from this trial is that people may be hurting and if we aren’t mindful and intentional about caring for others, it can be easy to miss. You never can tell from the outside what battles may be raging on the inside. Keeping this in mind, my family has been challenged by the love we’ve received to be more diligent in extending that same love to others.
How can we be compassionate followers of Christ, compassionate families for Christ? We don’t have to go very far; there are people everywhere that are hurting, that are lonely or need a helping hand. Whether God has given your family a large platform to display His love or a small-scaled assignment, whether it is someone you know or a flat-out stranger, do it. Be obedient to the call, for in this way, lives are changed. It is the love of God.
“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
What does compassion look like in your life? How has God met your needs through another person? What ideas do you have to practice compassion as a family? To display the love of God to another?
