Jesus is often described as having compassion for people. If we want to follow Jesus’ example of how to live, we too will need to be compassionate. We talk about Jesus being compassionate, but we don’t fully understand the meaning of what we are saying. How can we have compassion for people without understanding what it means to be compassionate? I want to take time to explore the meaning of compassion, God’s deep compassion, and what following Jesus’ example looks like.
The dictionary defines compassion as “sympathetic pity and concern for the suffering or misfortunes of others.” We see the hurt, pain, and suffering of others and we are also hurting with them. A common prayer amongst Christians is, “Break my heart for what breaks yours.” Well, God’s heart breaks when he sees his people suffer. We are essentially praying to have the same depth of compassion that God has. We know that God is compassionate because his word says so. God describes himself as, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God…” (Exodus 34:6). God loves his creation, especially the beings he created in his image, and has compassion on them.
One example of God’s compassionate character can be observed in the story of the Israelites. When his chosen people were enslaved and oppressed in Egypt, he saw their suffering and heard their cries. It says that “the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob” (Exodus 3:23-24). God promised Abraham land, descendants, and blessing and redemption. God heard the suffering of his people and remembered the promise he made to their ancestors he had not yet fulfilled. God, having heard the pain of his people, was moved to compassion. God did not forget their suffering but started on his plan to fulfill the promises he made to them. With some high and low moments, the Israelites experienced the compassion and faithfulness of God through exodus, wandering, and entering the promised land. God heard of their oppression and set them free. Trapped at the edge of the Red Sea with enemies behind them, God opened the sea before them. When they were hungry and thirsty, God provided manna from heaven and water from a rock. Time and time again, God saw the needs of his people and, by his compassion, moved to action. God is a compassionate God who sees the needs and suffering of his people.
Jesus is God manifested in the flesh, so we can look to his life to see the depths of God’s compassion for his people. We can also further see how compassion should move us to action. In Matthew 15, great crowds came to Jesus to be healed. Jesus healed them and the crowd wondered when they saw the people healed. Jesus goes on to say, “I have compassion on the crowd because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat” (v. 32). Jesus recognized that the people were hungry and he had compassion on them. His compassion didn’t stop there, but he took action to alleviate their hunger. He started by instructing his disciples to feed the crowds, but they couldn’t think of a way to do so. Jesus then took seven loaves of bread and a few small fish and gave thanks for them. He gave the food back to the disciples to feed the crowds. All the people, four thousand men, ate and were satisfied. Jesus saw the people were in need and his compassion on them led him to fulfill their need. Jesus had compassion on the crowds then and he still has compassion today.
Another example of Jesus’ compassion moving him to action is the raising of a widow’s son. As Jesus was approaching a town, he saw a man who had died being carried out of the town. His mother was a widow and he was her only son, meaning she no longer had anyone to care for and provide for her in the patriarchal society of the time. This woman just entered into living a life of chaos, hardship, and despair. The passage states, “When the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her” (Luke 7:13). Jesus saw the great pain of this woman who had lost her husband and now her only son, and who had no one to care for her. When Jesus had compassion for her, he raised her son from the dead. Jesus had compassion and was moved to action. Jesus was seeking to alleviate the suffering and despair of this woman because he loved her and had compassion for her.
We have seen the depth of the compassionate character of God and Christ’s compassion. If both God and Jesus had compassion for people, we should too. Their compassion moved them to action, just as we should be moved to action by our compassion. If we see the pain and suffering of others but do not have compassion, we are not living like Jesus. Jesus had compassion for others and was moved to action. We should be peacemakers, looking for opportunities to bring the peace of God with us into situations of chaos.
I want to encourage you to pray for deeper compassion. Pray that your heart would break for the things that break God’s heart. It may hurt, but you will be moved to action and act in genuine love toward others. When we show others genuine love, we show them a glimpse of God’s love for them. When you find yourself having compassion for someone, ask God what he wants you to do. God may want you to sit and listen when you want to solve the problem. Or God may ask you to meet the practical needs of someone suffering when you want to listen. God may ask you to pray with someone and establish a relationship with them when you want to run from their hurting. Always pray and trust God. God is faithful and your obedience will be fruitful.
