More Than A Feeling
“All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.”
2 Corinthians 1:3–4
In the Greek language there are a few words that convey some aspect of the English word “compassion.” Each is different from the other. At the heart of compassion is the Greek word “oiktirmos” a noun which means “compassion, pity” and is most often used to convey “pity, compassion, favor, grace and mercy.” Our God is a compassionate God at the core of His being and He delights to show us favor and grace and mercy because He is full of compassion. It’s who He is!
Second, there is another Greek word “splagchnizomai” which means “to be moved in the inward parts, to feel compassion”. Most often when people feel compassion they do nothing about it, they simply experience it, it’s a feeling. But not God. When you read in your bible that Jesus was moved with compassion it is always a verb as it denotes action. When Jesus felt compassion in His heart, He always followed it by doing something about it. In Matthew 9:36 the people were confused Jesus was moved with compassion and He led them. In Mathew 14:14 Jesus saw that many people who followed Him were sick so He healed them. In Matthew 15:32 Jesus saw that the people were hungry and because He was moved with compassion He fed them, and in Matthew 18:27 Jesus tells the story of the unjust servant who was bankrupt in debt and his master had compassion on him and forgave the debt. Each time Jesus saw the people we read that Jesus was moved with compassion and did something to help them.
The question for each of us today is which kind of compassion best describes me and you? Are we content with just feelings in our heart of compassion or do our feelings lead us to action? It’s important to feel compassion as thats where action begins but it’s important that we don’t allow our feelings of compassion to remain just feelings. We do well each day as we pray to ask God to create within us a heart of compassion, a heart like Jesus has. And it’s equally as important that we allow our feelings of compassion to move us to acts of compassion in Jesus name. Let’s not settle for just feeling for other people today, let those feelings of compassion move us to do something that reveals both our heart and more important, the heart of our loving and compassionate God for them!
“Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
Colossians 3:12–17
I LOVE YOU!
2 Corinthians 1:3–4
In the Greek language there are a few words that convey some aspect of the English word “compassion.” Each is different from the other. At the heart of compassion is the Greek word “oiktirmos” a noun which means “compassion, pity” and is most often used to convey “pity, compassion, favor, grace and mercy.” Our God is a compassionate God at the core of His being and He delights to show us favor and grace and mercy because He is full of compassion. It’s who He is!
Second, there is another Greek word “splagchnizomai” which means “to be moved in the inward parts, to feel compassion”. Most often when people feel compassion they do nothing about it, they simply experience it, it’s a feeling. But not God. When you read in your bible that Jesus was moved with compassion it is always a verb as it denotes action. When Jesus felt compassion in His heart, He always followed it by doing something about it. In Matthew 9:36 the people were confused Jesus was moved with compassion and He led them. In Mathew 14:14 Jesus saw that many people who followed Him were sick so He healed them. In Matthew 15:32 Jesus saw that the people were hungry and because He was moved with compassion He fed them, and in Matthew 18:27 Jesus tells the story of the unjust servant who was bankrupt in debt and his master had compassion on him and forgave the debt. Each time Jesus saw the people we read that Jesus was moved with compassion and did something to help them.
The question for each of us today is which kind of compassion best describes me and you? Are we content with just feelings in our heart of compassion or do our feelings lead us to action? It’s important to feel compassion as thats where action begins but it’s important that we don’t allow our feelings of compassion to remain just feelings. We do well each day as we pray to ask God to create within us a heart of compassion, a heart like Jesus has. And it’s equally as important that we allow our feelings of compassion to move us to acts of compassion in Jesus name. Let’s not settle for just feeling for other people today, let those feelings of compassion move us to do something that reveals both our heart and more important, the heart of our loving and compassionate God for them!
“Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
Colossians 3:12–17
I LOVE YOU!
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