Compassion

Wikipedia defines "compassion" as a human emotion prompted by the pain of others.

I've been praying for the Lord to open up His compassion for people in my heart. In my own world of hardships, my heart had closed to those I didn't know. I could feel for people I knew, people close to me, but beyond that no sorrow touched my heart.

The world is lost without Jesus. The world is suffering... whether it is physical suffering such as starvation or disease, or whether it is inner suffering of a soul tormented by no hope. I want to care.

You might be thinking how harsh that is. How could I not care that people are hurting? How could I not want to share what has given me life, hope, assurance? I'm human, and I have learned in this life that humans are depraved (besides it being Biblical). I've hardened myself with the idea that those without Jesus just WANT it that way. I've been turned away from compassion by people trying to force Christ's rules on others, rather than sharing Christ himself. And as for the physical suffering, it was easy to pretend it didn't exist.

I have not made any huge strides in this area, but the Lord has started opening my heart at least to the suffering of the people of Haiti. Imagining having no water, food, shelter... AND no hope in a God who can save you? I don't have a lot of money or even emotional energy to commit to helping the people of Haiti, but the Lord has laid on my heart the desire to give what little I can, especially in prayer. This is new. Even though the Lord has given Corey and me very little these days, we are thriving compared to others.

The Lord has used people like Angela Fairfield and her fiery passion for the people of Haiti to open my eyes. She told me about a small orphanage in Haiti that takes in groups of siblings so they don't have to be separated. The organization is called Bosko, their website is here, and they are not only helping their orphans, but their community in the aftermath of the earthquake. It helps me to have a specific, personal group to connect with.

This post is not to guilt trip anyone into doing anything, just sharing my heart. If you happen to be interested then it's Jesus' doing, not mine.

"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." Colossians 3:12-13