Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way.” Matthew 15:32
In the past weeks I have explored gratitude and love. This week I want to take a look at compassion.
My definition of compassion is the act of showing love to others. Compassion is more than an emotion.
It is an action word.
In Matthew 15, Jesus did more than have empathy for the crowd. He had compassion. His love and empathy moved him to feed more than four thousand people. His compassion moved him to do the miraculous: to turn a few loaves of bread and a few small fish into a feast for many.
What miracles await us when we ask God to co-labor with us
to serve our fellow man, woman, or child?
A compassionate act of caring—writing a text or an email of encouragement—could miraculously pull someone from the brink of despair.
A compassionate act of kindness—offering to pay for someone’s meal—could miraculously give them the money they need for something important.
Offer a compassionate word of love, encouragement, hope, or comfort and you miraculously become the mouthpiece of God.
God may not physically feed over four thousand through your act of love, but imagine the ripple effect of one small act of love.
You could well be feeding four thousand souls spiritually when, moved by compassion you become the hands, feet, and voice of God.