Be Compassionate 2

Devotional Reading: Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion on the crowd because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.” Matthew 15:32 ESV

To have compassion for someone means to not only “feel” for them, but to also DO something to help them, just like in the story of the Samaritan man who helped the injured Jew. There are couple of things I believe Jesus will want us to learn from this story.

• Jesus will never challenge us to do something that He has not done.

Jesus has always been and will always be our example. Jesus was able to challenge this Jewish man to show compassion because it was something that Jesus Himself had mastered. One day, Jesus had been teaching the crowds for three days. As the crowds were approaching him, He told his disciples, “I have compassion on the crowd.” He said this because He had realized that they hadn’t eaten anything since they’ve been with him. (Matthew 15:32) Beyond seeing their need, Jesus did not only move to their need, but He also met their need by multiplying seven loaves of bread and a few small fish.

• To love people, we must move toward them, not avoid them.

The mark of maturity for every believer is by how we love. Jesus had no obligation to feed 4,000 people, and the Samaritan had no obligation to help the injured Jewish man, however, both had an understanding that because we are loved by God, we cannot withhold love from others. As believers, we are to move towards those who are in need, and the way that we can best demonstrate that is by loving them through our actions (1 John 3:18).

Prayer and Confession
Lord thank you for moving towards me in my time of need. Thank you for being our example and helping me to follow in Your footsteps. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Further Reading: John 3:16, 1Corinthians 13.