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                                               Moved by Compassion (February 22, 2023)

“But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?” (1 John 3:17)

As Christians who have been commanded to love one another and to love God above all, we must be people of compassionate hearts. We are called to follow the example of Jesus Christ whose great compassion was reflected in His miraculous acts of healing the sick, raising the dead, and casting out demons from those who were possessed. We too must be moved by human compassion, humbly committing our time and resources to help meet the needs of the many that are less fortunate whether or not we are personally experiencing seasons of calm or storm in our own lives.

Jesus, for instance, had learned of the beheading of his beloved cousin John the Baptist, the Jewish religious leaders were plotting to kill Him, and He was keenly aware of the suffering ahead as His journey to the cross neared its end when He was confronted by a great multitude of followers. “And He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick.” (Matthew 14:14) In a further expression of compassion, that evening Jesus fed the 5,000 men (possibly up to 20,000 people including women and children) with only 5 loaves and 2 fish, leaving 12 baskets of fragments.

In their unbelief, the disciples had asked that Jesus send the crowd away to buy food in the nearby villages. But Jesus was clearly in control, commanding that they satisfy the people’s hunger with what was available. The disciples only saw the poverty of their limited resources, but Jesus compassionately broke and blessed the loaves and all ate and the hungry throng was were. God often gives His children tasks they cannot complete in their own strength, but moved by Christlike compassion, we can tap into His inexhaustible sufficiency, putting our faith into action to do God’s will and achieve His divine purposes.

“Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous.” (1 Peter 3:8)



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