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 must also forgive.
Colossians 3:12-13 ESV
We live in a world today where we see a lot of hard hearts. Hard hearts are the total opposite of compassionate hearts or hearts filled with compassion. People seem to be out for themselves. Many are arrogant and unkind. Some may even react violently if you don’t support the things they support or believe the way they believe.
Our Scripture passage for today tells us that as Christians or Christ followers, we must act differently than those around us. We must imitate Christ (Ephesians 5:1). We must forgive just as He forgives us. We must exhibit kindness, humility, meekness, patience and be able to bear with one another and forgive one another.
The next time someone is causing you grief, just think about the last time you sinned. Maybe you had a thought you should have taken captive (2 Corinthians 10:5) and failed to do so or said something you shouldn’t have said. When we sin, we must realize that God bears with us or puts up with us. He forgives us when we earnestly repent. If God can do this for a horrible, rotten sinner like me or you, shouldn’t we be able to do the same for others?
We were told in Genesis 6:6 that the LORD regretted that He had made man on earth, and it grieved Him to His heart. Man’s sin on earth had become so great it caused God grief. God was sorry He had even made man. Yet, in His grief there was mercy. He had Noah build the ark. Noah was a preacher who tried his best to warn people of the flood that was coming to destroy the earth, but they wouldn’t listen. Instead, they laughed at Noah and thought he was crazy.
They had the chance to be saved, but they chose not to listen. They continued in their sin until they were swept away and destroyed by the flood.
When we see others going through hard times, we should be a comfort to them. We are told in 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 that God comforts us in times of trouble so we can be a comfort to others and offer them the same comfort that God offered to us.
In 1 Peter 3:8 we are encouraged to have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind.
Jesus showed compassion for others. He shows compassion for us as sinners. We are told in Matthew 14:14 when Jesus went ashore, He saw a great crowd, and had compassion on them and healed their sick. It’s His great compassion for us that caused Him to die to save us from our sins.
As Christians compassion is necessary. We are to be clothed in compassion. With compassion, it protects our hearts from becoming hardened. When the Red Sea parted and the Israelites walked through on dry land, Pharaoh followed because he had no compassion. His heart had become hardened because he had rejected God and His word many times. As he and his army and horses and chariots marched into the Red Sea, the waters returned to their former position, and they were all drowned.
Hard hearts lead to destruction. God intended for us to be compassionate to others, even our enemies. We are told to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us in Matthew 5:44.
If your heart has become hardened by the grind of everyday life here on planet earth, turn to God. Pray for Him to give you compassion. He will be glad to grant this request. He wants us to love others, forgive others and have a heart of compassion.
Many of us see things like humility, meekness, patience and compassion as weaknesses, but my friend it takes the strength of God to have these qualities. God wants us to be clothed in these things and He will gladly dress us in them if we only ask.
Have a great day!