Compassion

Believing in God makes us special. It gives us hope of a better future. It gives us strength for the present. And, it gives us grace for the past. As people of faith, we think beyond death. The awareness of God, gives us purpose.

As Bible-believing Christians we have the privilege of being part of God’s work. More so, we have the ominous role of being part of God Himself. Paul explained to the church in Corinth, “Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually” (1 Cor 12:27). Through faith, we become individual cells that together form the organs that collectively become the body of God in physical form. Inasmuch as Jesus was the physical manifestation of God on Earth, (For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, (Col 2:9)) and we are now the body of Christ (1 Cor 12:27), we are by extension the body of God. Therefore, it is our job to do God’s work.

By calling us into Himself, God tasks us with being extensions of Himself on earth. Every act of God on Earth has been a demonstration of His compassion. It is our work therefore to demonstrate compassion on God’s behalf. When God does not act supernaturally, He is counting on us to demonstrate His compassion. When He does not heal, He looks to us to soothe. When He does not revive, He calls on us to comfort. In fact, God entrusts us to demonstrate sufficient compassion to others so that He can be seen even without disrupting the natural order of things. When our compassion is visible, God is visible. When our love is felt, God is felt. Just as people glorified God because of the works of Jesus, people should glorify God because of the works of His people.

Jesus said, "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father (John 14:12). He further added, “And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover" (Mark 16:17-18).

I suppose there may be times when casting out demons, speaking with new languages, picking up serpents and ingesting poison may become necessary in what we are doing for God. Nonetheless, it seems to me that demonstrating God’s compassion is always in demand as we go about our lives. There are always people in need of love, hope and help. Let’s demonstrate compassion toward those in need. They are our trusts.