Compassion
for people will drive you. It will propel you to go the
extra mile.
It’s All About
by Leslie D. Wright
or God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” St. John 3:16 is a basic scripture that many of us memorized in Sunday school. But I want us to take a closer look at what this scripture is saying because sometimes you can memorize scripture, yet still not have a revelation of that scripture.
and said, “The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He will send forth labourers into His harvest.” There are many people out there with unmet needs. They are hurting and need to know Jesus loves them. When you look at the lost and dying world what do you see?
To begin with, “God so loved.” This tells us something about God …He loves us. It doesn’t say God had pity, or He just wanted to do something for people. Because He loves, the scripture says, “that He gave.” Love is always looking to be a blessing to others. We should love not just in word, but in word and deed. People know you love them by the way you treat them, and by what you do for them. God gave His only begotten Son. He gave His best. Love gives its best!
Do you want to have the heart of God? Do you want to be an imitator of Christ? Let’s look at the story of the Good Samaritan in St. Luke 10. Some robbers beat a man and left him on the road to die. As he lies there dying, a rabbi, priest, or holy man comes along. He sees the wounded man and passes by on the other side. Next a Levite approaches. He is a religious person, someone who faithfully serves in church. You would think surely he would have compassion and stop. But he too crosses to the other side of the road and keeps going.
St. Matthew 9:35-38 tells how Jesus went about the cities and towns teaching and preaching about the Kingdom of God. Many people came to hear the Word and to be healed of various sicknesses and diseases. When Jesus looked at the multitude that came to Him, He was moved with compassion, not judgmental. He didn’t blame them for being in the shape they were in. Neither did He look down on them because they were dirty and in need. No, when He saw them, He fell more in love with them
Then a Samaritan came and had compassion for him. He didn’t ask, “Hey, what happened to you? You should have never come this way. See that’s what you get.” All of us are in a war. Some of us, if not all, will be injured at some point. When you see your sister or your brother wounded, don’t go to them and say, “Well, you shouldn’t have done this or that. You brought this on yourself.” The Good Samaritan didn’t persecute him or ask any questions. He just helped the man. He poured in the oil
16 S P R I N G
2008