Dear Sisters,
I am writing this letter as much to myself as to anyone else. You see, I am a very compassionate person, but not always as compassionate to the people very closest to me as I could be. Have you noticed how hard it is to practice kindness and compassion towards the people we see every day and perhaps live with?
Our Jesus knew compassion, and I dare say it was not only because He was God and that He is love defined, I’d say it was also because He chose to show grace to the many people He rubbed shoulders with, whether it was his close family, the disciples (beloved or not) and the masses. Even His dealings with the Pharisees showed compassion, as I believe speaking the truth is one part of compassion.
I find that showing grace and compassion to my dear spouse is not quite as easy or natural as I had hoped, now that I am almost six months into the beautiful mystery of marriage. I’m in love with the guy, so why is it that I can spout endearments and harsh comments out of the same lips? (James 3: 10-12) Please say I am not alone. In fact, if you are reading this and you are breathing, I’m sure you know quite well what I speak of, this dichotomy between where we are and where we want to be, the love and compassion we desire to show and the amount of grace and compassion we actually DO show. A dangerous question (and also a book by this same title…) is, “What is it like to be married [or live with/work with, etc.] me?” Are we living in a way that would provide the answer we hope for?
And yet to you, dear reader, and to myself, though we have held up the mirror and perhaps we do not see something we like, I also offer grace to you…and I rest in the grace that I know is offered me. Even the great Apostle Paul was not what he desired he might be (Romans 7:14-25). Resting in the grace that God has started a work in us and HE will complete it, well, is that not comforting to us all? The very God of compassion, the author of this divine gift and glue that melds and molds each of our relationships, He WILL complete the work that He has started in us (Philippians 1:6), including the task of making us each more loving and compassionate as the days pass. Hold fast to the depths of His love, and I am certain that you, as well as I, will see it seeping through our pores, coming out in our words and actions, and coming to life in the grand and simple lives that we live.
Isn’t it divine to be a child of the Great God of all Compassion? Truly we have been shown this compassion, and as we rest in the compassion He offers us, I am confident that we will begin to show it more and more. May I leave you with this final quote from Matthew Fox: “Compassion is a spirituality of meat, not milk, of adults, not children; of love, not masochism; of justice, not philanthropy. It requires maturity, a big heart, a willingness to risk, and imagination.” Dare to take a step in that direction today!
Your sister,
Ruth