Special Possession

Luke 7:¹³ “When the Lord saw her, his heart overflowed with compassion. “Don’t cry!” he said. ¹⁴ Then he walked over to the coffin and touched it, and the bearers stopped. “Young man,” he said, “I tell you, get up.”¹⁵ Then the dead boy sat up and began to talk…”

All human beings are precious to God. In fact, God describes us as the apple of His eyes. When we truly understand this, it empowers us to see what people mean to God. And we are equipped to treat people with tenderness. You drive pass a very expensive car parked on the side of the road with a flat tyre or some mechanical problem. And the thoughts running through your mind are that perhaps the person stole the car, or stole the money to buy the car. Or you are quick to assume the person is up to mischief. Seeing people in this light kills the possibility of compassion.

If you have been given to thinking like this, then it is time to build compassion and develop character. The eyes of compassion see the same scenario and think perhaps this person has to get home to his family urgently, or perhaps this person is running late for an appointment or a life defining interview, or perhaps this person has a health emergency. The eyes of compassion are open to opportunities to help. And this was the difference between the priest and the Samaritan in the story in Luke 10:25-37 [please read]. When we see people as God sees them, compassion flourishes in our hearts and through our actions.

In helping the beaten man, the Samaritan disregarded the inconvenience, danger and financial cost completely. He viewed the situation through the eyes of compassion and saw the need to help someone that could have been a risk to him. And because of compassion, the risk factor fizzled away, giving way to love and the desire to be good to a total stranger. The Samaritan probably felt this is how God sees this person. If Jesus showed up at this scene, He would not just walk by. We see so many examples of Jesus showing compassion in scriptures. Jesus had compassion on us and that is why we are saved.

If there were criteria for salvation, a lot of us will not qualify. For some of us, if salvation was by election, even our own family will never put us up for salvation. But Jesus had compassion on us, so we need to see people the way God sees them.

Prayer: Father, I will not shut my bowels of compassion and I ask for the grace to remain compassionate even when it does not make sense, in Jesus Name. Amen!