Tag Archives: compassion

Forty Days of Praying the Word of God: Day 32

“Therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and dearly loved, put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience…”

Colossians 3:12

Father, You have chosen me, made me holy, and loved me, and I’m forever grateful. I pray for myself now, as well as for all of Your children, and I ask that You would teach us to put on compassion. I pray that we would turn from our outrage, from our suspicions, and from our side-taking ways, and begin to let compassion flow from us. Compassion for victims and families and all who are touched by the violence that is raging right now. When we could choose blame, let us choose compassion. Rather than assumptions, may we give compassion. Lord, make us the voice of compassion in the crowds of hate filled rhetoric, blame, and accusation.

As easy as it is to join the fray and raise our fists and exercise our outrage, I pray we will choose instead to look for Your footprints. I pray we will do the harder task of dying to our own opinions and choose to be like You, to have Your mind and Your heart.

Bring me, bring us, to a place repentance, so that we can rise up to kindness and humility. Gentle us Lord, gentle our attitudes and our voices. And may we wait, with patience, for You to cause everything to conform to Your purposes. I pray we will speak to injustice and give the voiceless a voice, but with compassion, with kindness, and with our ear leaned toward You, listening for Your heart, not to the many voices calling for our agreement down here.

Father, the worst of our culture has brought out the worst in us, and I pray it will stop. I pray that we will come to our senses as the people of God, and begin to walk in Your Spirit, against our own flesh. I pray for a holy restraint to come upon the Church – not a restraint of truth, but a restraint of our harsh words, our opinions stated as facts, and a restraint of our unkindness toward one another.

Jesus, call us again to ‘come, follow’ You, as You act with compassion for the world You died to save.

In Your name I pray. Amen.

welcome to the harvest

In frustration the lawyer throws up his hands and says, “I’d have a great job if it weren’t for all these clients!”.  Of course, the humor in that statement is in the fact that if it weren’t for all those clients, he wouldn’t have a job.

In Matthew 9:35-38, they followed Him through the towns and villages, watching as He taught in the synagogues, preached the gospel, and healed every disease and sickness.  And then Jesus introduced the disciples to what it’s really all about. People. 

“When He saw the crowds, He had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” (v. 36)  The original word for “harassed” meant weary, exhausted. He looked out and saw a crowd of tired, helpless people, and was moved with compassion.  Then He turned to His disciples and basically said “Welcome to the “harvest”. Oh, and by the way,  you should probably ask Me to send help. You’re going to need it.”

But my eyes are continually drawn to “He had compassion on them”.  Them. Tired, worn out, helpless sheep. And as usual, my mind goes to what Jesus did not have compassion on, in order for me to grasp the importance of the real object of His compassion.

His compassion was not for a ministry, or a ministry event. He wasn’t moved on behalf of a vision statement, a fund raiser or a program. The beautiful new building that we’re so proud of doesn’t do it, nor does the sermon preached in that building, (as fascinating as I’m sure it was).

What moves the heart of Jesus is people. It has always been about people. Yes, all those needy people who aggravate us, irritate us, wear us out.  Where would we be without them? Pastors would have no calling. Nor would bible study leaders and teachers. The mercy givers would have no place to put their mercy. The givers…who would they give to? (God doesn’t need your money…people do). Who would those with the gift of healing heal? Who would the evangelists evangelize? On whom would I learn to give grace? Who would I forgive? Who would teach me how very hard it is to maintain true unity?

They were led to the reason for everything. A bunch of tired, helpless, directionless people that Jesus called the “harvest”. And His heart moved at the sight of them.

I guess my final thought is this. We’d have a great Church, if it weren’t for all these sheep, wouldn’t we?