“When he [Jesus] went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things.” (Mark 6:34, ESV)
God has a great, great capacity for compassion. God’s heart is constantly reaching out to those HE loves. God’s love and mercy are related to His compassion. God seeks to connect with you, reach out to you, watch over you, and comfort you all because of His great compassion. How well do you give AND receive compassion in return?
In Romans 9:15, Paul remarked on God’s desire to give and reserve compassion depending on the faith of the individual and God’s great mercy. God’s compassion is legendary. In Colossians 3:12, followers of Christ are told to clothe themselves with “compassion” among other things. Because of this, faithful people like you and me are required to be like God. We also must have a compassion that is life changing. In our scripture reading for today, we see another example of compassion in the Bible. Jesus left a boat at the shore of the Sea of Galilee. There, Jesus saw “a great crowd” of people waiting for Him, hoping to be taught, helped, and healed by Him. To Jesus, these people looked so lost and alone, “like sheep without a shepherd” (Mark 6:34). Many scriptures, like today’s chosen one, talk about the character of God and Jesus as one of compassion. They also teach that you, as a follower of God, must have compassion as one of your personal characteristics.
Max Lucado considered what it meant to be a father and what it taught him about the compassion of God. In his book, The Applause of Heaven, he wrote: “My child’s feelings are hurt. I tell her she’s special. My child is injured. I do whatever it takes to make her feel better. My child is afraid. I won’t go to sleep until she is secure.
I’m not a hero .… I’m a parent. When a child hurts, a parent does what comes naturally. He helps.…
Why don’t I let my [Heavenly] Father do for me what I am more than willing to do for my own children?
I’m learning.… Being a father is teaching me that when I am criticized, injured, or afraid, there is a Father who is ready to comfort me. There is a Father who will hold me until I’m better, help me until I can live with the hurt, and who won’t go to sleep when I’m afraid of waking up and seeing the dark.
Ever.” (Grace for the Moment, Max Lucado, p, 342)
With these words above, Lucado is questioning his own ability to accept comfort and discipline and compassion from his heavenly Father. I want you to consider the same.
“James Garfield was a lay preacher and principal of his denominational college. They say he was ambidextrous and could simultaneously write Greek, with one hand and Latin with the other.
In l880, he was elected president of the United States, but after only six months in office, he was shot in the back with a revolver. He never lost consciousness. At the hospital, the doctor probed the wound with his little finger to seek the bullet. He couldn't find it, so he tried a silver-tipped probe. Still he couldn't locate the bullet.
They took Garfield back to Washington, D.C. Despite the summer heat, they tried to keep him comfortable. He was growing very weak. Teams of doctors tried to locate the bullet, probing the wound over and over. In desperation they asked Alexander Graham Bell, who was working on a little device called the telephone, to see if he could locate the metal inside the president's body. He came, he sought, and he too failed. The president hung on through July, through August, but in September he finally died-not from the wound, but from infection. The repeated probing, which the physicians thought would help the man, eventually, killed him. So it is with people who dwell too long on their sin and refuse to release it to God.” (Sen. Mark Hatfield relayed by Roger Thompson)
When you do not allow God to heal past sins, when you beat yourself up over the past, it is easy to do more harm than good. When you allow a mistake on the part of another to be all that you see, it can damage all future relations with that person. When a husband or wife cannot forgive an error, it will damage their marriage. Where is the compassion in all these situations? It has been rejected, neglected, ignored, or lost.
Sometimes, you can have compassion for another, but not be able to have compassion for yourself. You may desire to help another but ignore your own need. At other moments, your compassion toward another may darken. Your desire to help another will be misguided. Because of God’s compassion, you must learn to be compassionate toward others and yourself. How forgiving and gracious are you toward another for his or her mistakes? How willing are you to let go of past failures and lapses in judgment within yourself?
God had a great capacity for compassion toward Israel. Jesus had great compassion upon the needy. How great is your compassion toward others? Toward yourself?
In Romans 9:15, Paul remarked on God’s desire to give and reserve compassion depending on the faith of the individual and God’s great mercy. God’s compassion is legendary. In Colossians 3:12, followers of Christ are told to clothe themselves with “compassion” among other things. Because of this, faithful people like you and me are required to be like God. We also must have a compassion that is life changing. In our scripture reading for today, we see another example of compassion in the Bible. Jesus left a boat at the shore of the Sea of Galilee. There, Jesus saw “a great crowd” of people waiting for Him, hoping to be taught, helped, and healed by Him. To Jesus, these people looked so lost and alone, “like sheep without a shepherd” (Mark 6:34). Many scriptures, like today’s chosen one, talk about the character of God and Jesus as one of compassion. They also teach that you, as a follower of God, must have compassion as one of your personal characteristics.
Max Lucado considered what it meant to be a father and what it taught him about the compassion of God. In his book, The Applause of Heaven, he wrote: “My child’s feelings are hurt. I tell her she’s special. My child is injured. I do whatever it takes to make her feel better. My child is afraid. I won’t go to sleep until she is secure.
I’m not a hero .… I’m a parent. When a child hurts, a parent does what comes naturally. He helps.…
Why don’t I let my [Heavenly] Father do for me what I am more than willing to do for my own children?
I’m learning.… Being a father is teaching me that when I am criticized, injured, or afraid, there is a Father who is ready to comfort me. There is a Father who will hold me until I’m better, help me until I can live with the hurt, and who won’t go to sleep when I’m afraid of waking up and seeing the dark.
Ever.” (Grace for the Moment, Max Lucado, p, 342)
With these words above, Lucado is questioning his own ability to accept comfort and discipline and compassion from his heavenly Father. I want you to consider the same.
“James Garfield was a lay preacher and principal of his denominational college. They say he was ambidextrous and could simultaneously write Greek, with one hand and Latin with the other.
In l880, he was elected president of the United States, but after only six months in office, he was shot in the back with a revolver. He never lost consciousness. At the hospital, the doctor probed the wound with his little finger to seek the bullet. He couldn't find it, so he tried a silver-tipped probe. Still he couldn't locate the bullet.
They took Garfield back to Washington, D.C. Despite the summer heat, they tried to keep him comfortable. He was growing very weak. Teams of doctors tried to locate the bullet, probing the wound over and over. In desperation they asked Alexander Graham Bell, who was working on a little device called the telephone, to see if he could locate the metal inside the president's body. He came, he sought, and he too failed. The president hung on through July, through August, but in September he finally died-not from the wound, but from infection. The repeated probing, which the physicians thought would help the man, eventually, killed him. So it is with people who dwell too long on their sin and refuse to release it to God.” (Sen. Mark Hatfield relayed by Roger Thompson)
When you do not allow God to heal past sins, when you beat yourself up over the past, it is easy to do more harm than good. When you allow a mistake on the part of another to be all that you see, it can damage all future relations with that person. When a husband or wife cannot forgive an error, it will damage their marriage. Where is the compassion in all these situations? It has been rejected, neglected, ignored, or lost.
Sometimes, you can have compassion for another, but not be able to have compassion for yourself. You may desire to help another but ignore your own need. At other moments, your compassion toward another may darken. Your desire to help another will be misguided. Because of God’s compassion, you must learn to be compassionate toward others and yourself. How forgiving and gracious are you toward another for his or her mistakes? How willing are you to let go of past failures and lapses in judgment within yourself?
God had a great capacity for compassion toward Israel. Jesus had great compassion upon the needy. How great is your compassion toward others? Toward yourself?