Thought For Today: “Having a Heart of Compassion”

In the seventh chapter of Luke’s Gospel there’s a very powerful scene. As Jesus was approaching the city of Nain, a large procession of mourners was carrying the body of a mother’s only son. Seeing her obvious grief, it says that Jesus had compassion on her (Luke 7:13). He touched the coffin and said, “Arise,” and the young man sat up and began to speak.

The word that is used for “compassion” is very telling and instructive if we truly want to be followers of Christ. While it’s the word for having pity or feeling sympathy, it goes much deeper. It comes from within the very bowels of a person, often referred to as the seat of emotions.

Jesus felt the pain and anguish of that mother’s loss down in His guts and met her at her deepest need.

Every day God places people in our lives that are consumed with pain. Maybe a friend or neighbor has a serious need, or they’ve had someone closed to them die, or an illness has struck. Maybe it involves those who are caught up in wars around the world.

What I see is that God is calling us to stop being so busy with our own lives and respond to the needs of others with this sort of “from the bowels” compassion, or what some would call empathy.

Who can we reach out to today? Who can we offer the compassion of Jesus to? Who can we pray for in this their time of need? Let’s slow down and pay attention to those the Lord may be putting in our path.