My Dearest Sister,
I started this letter thinking that compassion was going to be an easy topic to write to you about. I don’t know about you, but I’ve always thought that I’ve had a great deal of compassion for people. The story of a friend or even a stranger’s struggles almost never fail to stir my heart and cause me to feel as if I am sharing in their sorrow. After all, I thought, who doesn’t feel sorry for the helpless and the sick, or those who are hurting? And who doesn’t feel distraught when they watch a sad movie? Doesn’t everyone feel compassion to some extent? It just seemed like such a straightforward topic that I wasn’t really sure where to begin. That’s when I figured I should probably look up what Jesus had to say about the matter.
The main thing I noticed was that whenever Jesus showed compassion it was always expressed in the form of an action. Many of Jesus’ encounters with His fellow man begin with the words “He was moved with compassion” and then follow by explaining how He exhibited that compassion to others. Christ even gave us an example of how we are to show compassion in the parable of the good Samaritan in Luke, chapter 10. Maybe you remember the story from Sunday school like I do, but in case you don’t, it goes something like this: A man is walking along a road and gets robbed and nearly beaten to death by thieves. A priest and a Levite each come upon the injured man but pass by him and continue on their way. Then a Samaritan comes along and as verse 33 says, “when he saw him, he had compassion.” Only it doesn’t stop there. Verse 34 goes on to say that the Samaritan “went to him and bandaged his wounds… he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.” And not only that, he paid for the man’s ongoing recovery even after he departed. What a marvelous example of Christ-like love!
I have to admit, I felt very convicted in reading this parable. I had only been thinking of compassion as a feeling one has towards someone in need but Jesus describes it as an action. The Samaritan didn’t just feel sorry for the poor guy who was left for dead, he actually did something about it! Now, I find it interesting that the Bible doesn’t actually say what the attitude of the priest and Levite were as they passed the man in need. Maybe they felt sorry for him, but were just too busy to stop and worry about it. Maybe the priest was late for the evening sacrifice or maybe the Levite was in a hurry to get home to his wife and children. It really doesn’t matter what their reason for not stopping was, the point is that just feeling bad for someone isn’t enough. Compassion is something that is shown. That got me thinking of how many times I’ve seen someone, whether it’s a friend or a stranger, struggling with something in their life and felt bad for them, but never actually did anything about it. Not even something as simple as praying with them or asking what I can do to help. Maybe I’ve been too embarrassed to put myself out there and risk sounding foolish. Or maybe I’ve simply been too busy worrying about my own life to worry about what’s going on in someone else’s. Whatever the reason, I am a bit ashamed to say that I have been like the priest and the Levite, not the good Samaritan.
I want to thank you, dear friend, for in writing this letter to you I have learned that compassion is not a feeling but an action; it is a verb, not a noun and I need to start living like it is so. My mind keeps coming back to the fact that God was so moved with compassion for a lost and fallen world that he gave His beloved Son as a sacrifice to save people like you and I. I think the least we can do in return is share just a fraction of that compassion, that Christ-like love, with others. After all, in 1 John 3:18 God gives us the responsibility as His children to “not love in word or thought, but in deed and truth.” I want that to be my testimony. I don’t just want to feel bad when I see someone in need, I want to be so moved with compassion that it shows.
Thank you for taking the time to read my letter, and thank you too for praying for me as I am called to action!
Your Sister,
Lauren