Compassion – The participation in another’s suffering; fellow-feeling, sympathy and pity inclining one to show mercy or give aid.
(Oxford Dictionary and Bible)
Monk and mystic Thomas Merton said, “Compassion is the keen awareness of the interdependence of all things.” Compassion is the ability to show mercy, forgiveness, make peace and continue to live life amid the confusion that comes in this world. Without the attribute of compassion, sickness and disease would run rampant and war would never cease. As God shows his compassion to us and we share it with others, our lives are forever changed and our world becomes a better place. It would be difficult for me to see our existence without compassion.
Compassion is the life-giving force that God has planted in us. It gives life when we touch the broken hearted with the love of God and man. Compassion allows us to understand in ways that only God could give to us. Compassion is the God force in us that makes us the salt and light of the world. Without compassion the world is a dark and tasteless void.
Compassion is the desire to see others rise up out of despair. God saw us through a lens of compassion. “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” (Matthew 9:36) Sheep without are shepherd are confused, lost and in despair. Jesus saw this and had compassion on all of us. He made things right for us, and we can help others by sharing in the heart of compassion that God bestowed upon us.
Compassion is a life-giving force that we possess. When God touched us and gave us the gift of His Spirit, we were forever changed. We now have understanding and insight that eluded us in past times. We have knowledge that can only comes to those who trust in God. This life-giving force gives us the responsibility and the ability to show compassion to those around us. Compassion is the visceral participation in and the alleviation of the suffering of another. It is a life-giving part of God that he has shared with us through grace.
Let us use this, our time, to seek out and be compassionate to one another. If we live such a life, we will be blessed internally and externally. Let us appropriate compassion in our home, work and world that God has entrusted to us as caretakers.
A kind gesture can reach a wound that only compassion can heal.
~~ Steve Maraboli
Compassion and tolerance are not a sign of weakness, but a sign of strength.
~~Dalai Lama
There is a nobility in compassion, a beauty in empathy, a grace in forgiveness.
~~John Connolly
Compassion is about giving all the love that you’ve got.
~~Cheryl Strayed
If you want to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.
~~Dalai Lama
Until you have real compassion, you can not recognize love.
~~Bob Thurman
Look for a way to lift someone up. And if that’s all you do, that’s enough.
~~Elizabeth Lesser
Use your voice for kindness, your ears for compassion, your hands for charity, your mind for truth, and your heart for love.
~~Anonymous
Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive.
~~ Dalai Lama
Instead of putting others in their place, put yourself in their place.
~~~ Amish Proverb
Compassion is the keen awareness of the interdependence of all things.
~~ Thomas Merton
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
~~~Ephesians 4:32
Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
~~~Lamentations 3:22-23
Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.
~~~1 Peter 3:8
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.
~~~ 2 Corinthians 1:3-4
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
~~~Colossians 3:12
“This is what the Lord Almighty said: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other.’
~~~Zechariah 7:9-10
As a father has compassion on his children,
so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;
~~~Psalm 103:13
“I will strengthen Judah
and save the tribes of Joseph.
I will restore them
because I have compassion on them.
They will be as though
I had not rejected them,
for I am the Lord their God
and I will answer them.
~~~ Zechariah 10:6
Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you;
therefore he will rise up to show you compassion.
For the Lord is a God of justice.
Blessed are all who wait for him!
~~~Isaiah 30:18
If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?
~~~ 1 John 3:17
Lord, One of the most needed things in our world today is compassion. We all need to receive it and know how to give it. We know that you are a God of great compassion and mercy and ask that you will instill in us the qualities that you possess. A very small amount of compassion can make great things happen. Please bestow upon me this gift of being able to show compassion to all who are in need.
Amen
A Pastor's Thoughts 