Be Moved With Compassion For Others Today
Impact People With Your Care
Jesus was so remarkable in His day that people came from near and far. Large crowds of people sought him out. He was unique, and He touched many individuals who were hurting. He solved problems while others complained about their difficulties!
Jesus did not only impress people with His preaching and teaching; He impressed people with His caring! He cared enough to do something about people’s pain.
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In Mark 1:41, it is written that Jesus was moved with compassion for a leper before He healed him. The ancient Greek word for compassion is splag-chi-zo-mai [1] which means to be moved in the innermost parts or bowels. In the ancient context, the bowels were thought to be the seat of love and pity, which are strong emotions.
In our modern English, compassion is defined as a strong feeling of wanting to help someone who is sick, hungry, or in trouble, or a sympathetic consciousness of others’ distress together with a desire to alleviate it.
Compassion is more than pity; it is more than feeling sorry for someone. Compassion is love in action. Compassion is love with wheels on, jumping in to make a change for the better. Compassion takes the appropriate steps to help someone in need.
“Compassion is about giving all the love that you’ve got.” (Cheryl Strayed)[2]
Jesus saw hurting people, felt sympathy, and then compassionately reached out His hands to heal, release, and restore them to perfect health. Jesus fulfilled what was required of all of us in this life:
“But he’s already made it plain how to live, what to do, what God is looking for in men and women. It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor, be compassionate and loyal in your love, And don’t take yourself too seriously—take God seriously.” (Micah 6:8 MSG) (emphasis mine)
Jesus wasn’t just expressing concern or talking about people’s problems. You can see the compassion in Jesus’ actions in response to the needs He saw in people’s lives. Jesus came to compassionately reveal our Heavenly Father to the world in a fresh and action-packed way. Even in the Old Testament, God was revealed as compassionate.
“Because of the Lord’s great love, we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:22–23 NIV)
My challenge to us all is simple: Go out there in the world and walk in the compassion that characterized Jesus’ ministry while on Earth. You will be so glad you did, for it will change others for the better and yourself in myriad ways! And if your family members are still around for the Thanksgiving weekend, practice this compassion with them. (We often struggle to show kindness to the ones closest to us.)
If you missed it, check out the post on Gratitude from a couple of weeks ago:
Thank you for reading! Please share with others if you enjoyed it. Thank you.
[1] Strong’s Concordance #4697.
[2] Pangilinan, Jessa. “49 Compassion Quotes About Showing Empathy for Others.” HappierHuman.com. December 23, 2019, https://www.happierhuman.com/compassion-quotes/