Colossians 3:12-14 NIV
Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
What does it look like as a follower of Jesus Christ to clothe myself with compassion? Jesus during his ministry demonstrated the definition of compassion for us to follow as he interacted with people. Jesus learned from God, his father, how essential compassion was to his ministry (Isaiah 49:15, Exodus 33:19, etc.). Throughout the Gospel, Jesus showed the difference between empathy, feeling compassionate and showing compassion which are similar but different. According to the Webster dictionary, empathy refers to an active sharing in someone’s emotional experience, but compassion takes empathy a step further by having the desire to alleviate the person's distress. The hardest part for me is having the desire to alleviate the person's distress and feeling helpless because having a desire doesn't mean you are able to alleviate the person's struggle. In Matthew 19:16-22, Jesus’ empathy toward the young man was genuine but his desire to set him free was not successful because the young man’s wealth was his idol and security. Knowing that Jesus came to seek and save the lost, he must have felt heartache when the young man went away sad. Jesus’s compassion was evident, but he was not able to execute his desire to relieve the spiritual suffering of the young man. The young man had to have an open heart and mind to receive the compassion offered by Jesus. In my own walk with Jesus, I am learning my desire to help people through my empathy and compassion for them may not be possible. In my feeling of helplessness, I often find myself frustrated asking God the why questions and wishing he would allow me to do more. God, through Jesus Christ, reminds me that nothing happens outside of the will of God. He, Jehovah, orders every step (Ephesians 1:11). Maturity in Jesus Christ can only come through believing that God’s Words are spirit and life (John 6:63). Therefore, even the worst scenarios are in his hand. “The Lord works out everything to its proper end— even the wicked for a day of disaster (Proverbs 16:4).” Studying the word compassion has helped me realize how important it is to not merely read the scripture but “…pay attention to it, as a light shining in a dark place until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your heart” (2 Peter 1:19).
The act of having compassion is also translated as mercy or pity (Hebrew/Greek- Racham; Ruhamah). When the two blind men in Matthew 9:27 cried after Jesus asking him to have mercy, they were asking for him to have compassion. Jesus knowing that he had the ability to show them compassion through the act of healing them, tested their faith in verse 28-29 by asking “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” Jesus took it a step further telling them “According to your faith let it be done to you.” If you don’t know the rest of the story spend some time in Mathew chapter 9. Through this Bible study, I have learned that all my life I did not understand the meaning of compassion. The key to compassion is action. I am realizing that I have encountered and experienced different circumstances around me where I have empathized with others and have had a deep feeling of compassion, Nonetheless, I am often not able to fix or provide relief (Act of compassion). During a conversation this week, I was reminded about the many times I felt helpless, or something seems impossible where I prayed and asked God to make a way for me to help someone through my compassion and God did provide a way through His might and power. My encouragement to each of us as we meditate on being compassionate every day is to apply Proverbs 3:27-28, in your journey “Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act. Do not say to your neighbor, “Come back tomorrow and I’ll give it to you”— when you already have it with you.”
