Seven-Day Practical Faith Blog: Mirroring the Compassion of Jesus

To be a disciple of Jesus is to learn from Jesus and to try to be like Jesus. As I look at Jesus, I am struck by his compassion.

First, to even come to earth in human form to live among us and to save us from our sins was an act filled with compassion.

Also, reading the Gospels, the word "compassion" keeps popping up in descriptions of Jesus. Some examples:

Mark 1:41 - A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, "If you are willing, you can make me clean." Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!"

Matthew 14:13-14 - The crowds followed him on foot from the towns. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.

Matthew 9:36 - When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

Mark 8:1-2 - During those days another large crowd gathered. Since they had nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat."

Luke 15:20 (in the Parable of the Prodigal Son) - “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him."

Jesus felt compassion for the sick, for the hungry, for those in need, even for those who had done wrong. To become Christ-like, we must exercise compassion. Three changes help us: increasing our empathy, decreasing our pride, and boldly taking action.

Some view empathy as weakness. But remember what God told the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 12:9, "My power is made perfect in weakness." When we are weak, God's power flows even more forcefully. When we become compassionate, we allow God to work through us to love our neighbor.

Tim Keller once said, "Pride makes empathy nearly impossible. Pride keeps us from really noticing people, from putting ourselves in their shoes, from recognizing when they are hurting and unhappy. It keeps us absorbed with our own agenda and needs." To be compassionate, we must overcome our pride and self-absorption and increase our awareness of others.

Once we become aware of others' needs, we must take action. Jesus didn't simply "feel the feels" but acted out of his compassion.

Jesus changed the world through his compassion. Our Lord keeps changing the world when we disciples see others, feel compassion for others, and change the world around us by mirroring the compassion of Jesus.

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