Lemuel Hardy with his wife, Ada, on their wedding day! The Hardy’s are a great example of a couple determined to grow in compassion as they follow Christ!
Compassion Is Not Comfortable
Lately, I’ve become very comfortable in my pandemic shelter of a home. I’ve allowed my heart to drift from the urgency Christ has for all men to know the truth (1 Tim 2:3-4). I feel I have lacked compassion or initiative. I can fall into thoughts like “If people are seeking God they’ll accept the truth” or “I’ll just speak the word and whoever loves God will figure it out” or even “I do so many other church-related things I’m too tired/busy to scrounge for open-hearted people.” In my comfort and complacency, I have struggled to fight to help people see how awesome God is! I am studying compassion to remind myself that not only do people urgently need Christ but also my hard work is needed as well. I want to be consumed by God’s fire (Hebrews 12:28-29) to preach boldly and love sacrificially!
Matt 9:35-38
V36 – Jesus sees the people and immediately has compassion. Sickness and disease are generally thought to be out of our control.
- When I recognize someone is struggling to wrestle with scripture or be open I need to remember it’s because their heart is sick.
- They are harassed by Satan. Their mind may be sick as well!
- Do I assume they’ll refuse medicine?
- They’re helpless! Do they know how to take the medicine? Am I willing to spoon feed them?
V38 – Jesus’ solution is to send workers into the field! That’s me!
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- In my heart, I want a convenient field like Costco. Not a wheat field or cornfield or a traditional harvest field like he’s comparing it to.
Compassion Is Eager
Matt 10:7, 10
V7 – Am I eager to preach the Kingdom? It’s easy to forget most don’t understand the difference between some church and the very Kingdom of God.
V9-10 – I shouldn’t get comfortable or complacent. “The worker is worth his keep.”
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- Love is evident. Those I pour into will want to be sure I’m taken care of. Who have I been pouring into? Am I at my limit?
- This whole passage started because “…He had compassion on them…”
- If the love of Christ is in me how could I not pour myself into others?
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V11 – challenge: I want to enter someone’s life like it’s a new home!
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- I should have someone I walk with so closely the peace that covers me covers them too! (V11-13)
- If they remain softhearted and repent they will claim it (become a disciple) for themselves and it will stay with them even after I move on to someone else!
- I should have someone I walk with so closely the peace that covers me covers them too! (V11-13)
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V14-16 – I need to give my whole heart and work to be a new part of someone’s life! If they reject me that’s their decision. If I have given all, It’s not a big deal to move on. I must be discerning.
Through the lens of compassion
V17-34
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- For the sake of helping the lost, it’s worthwhile to endure suffering and persecution:
- Be arrested and flogged
- Divide families (one side standing for Jesus against another)
- Be called demonic
- Even be killed
- Christ is focused on the eternal. All that suffering is worthwhile to him to liberate the harassed and helpless.
- Do I expect suffering to liberate the lost?
- Do I consider it worthwhile for the sake of their eternity?
- How deep is my compassion? Minor inconvenience or jailed and killed?
- For the sake of helping the lost, it’s worthwhile to endure suffering and persecution:
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Imitate Christ’s Heart of Compassion
If I’m going to imitate Christ and be as desperate to save souls as he is I need to strive for this heart of compassion. This is the compassion I am called to.
How do I become more compassionate?
Matthew 14:12-14 NIV
Jesus’ cousin just got brutally beheaded. If that were me that’d be discouraging whether I was close to them or not.
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- He IMMEDIATELY withdrew to pray. I don’t imagine Jesus waited silently. I’m sure he prayed in the boat on the way there. Jesus was urgent about his prayer life. Urgent to talk to God.
- Jesus MADE time to talk to God at any moment and his prayers were intense (Hebrews 5:7) (Luke 22:44)
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Luke 22:39-46
The cross was the greatest act of compassion. He was fighting to focus on God’s will! He prayed so hard he sweat blood.
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- At this moment he was resisting temptation and urging his men to resist as well. Maybe if they had resisted falling asleep they wouldn’t have abandoned Him?
- Prayer helps us focus and surrender to the will of God. It filled Jesus with the compassion that got him through the passion.
- Followed by obedience (John 15:10-13)
- Urgent, vulnerable prayer is the keep to filling myself with trust and surrender to God
- Following with obedience will fill me with the love and compassion to do what I am called to do!
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Practical Applications of Compassion:
- Be urgent to pray anytime(Matt 14:13) especially if my heart isn’t projecting fruit of the spirit (Gal 5:22-25)
- Surrender in my prayer (Hebrews 5:7) (Luke 22:42)
- Obey what I have been called to. Love the lost! (Matt 9:38, 10:6, 28:19) (John 15:13)
- Share boldly, jump into a new friend’s life!(Matt 10:11)
This “Holiday Quiet Times” series was written for the month of December 2020. Brothers and sisters from the Phoenix and Tucson churches contributed these various daily devotionals. You can download the PDF packet here: “2020 Holiday Quiet Times.“
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