A huge aspect to compassion is be concerned for the sufferings or misfortunes of others. Jesus Himself said, “You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.” (Jn 12:8) In addition to what Jesus literally meant, that He was about to give up His life for us and return to the Father, I believe this verse could also have a deeper spiritual meaning too. Perhaps He is reminding us that, if we do not imitate His example of compassion towards the hurting among us, that we will not sense this beautiful connection to Him, so it will seem like we do not have Him. In other words, what difference does it make being eternally in union with Jesus? The point is to transform us into His Image, this requires being concerned with those around us who might be in distress. There really is no simpler way to bless those in need than to share from our own financial resources. All it takes is a grateful heart and a willingness to share.
As children of God, we are supposed to be focusing on the Kingdom of God. This is why the first item on any monthly working budget plan must be our tithe, we will talk about this next week. But the saying goes, people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. We have to meet the tangible needs of others and then their hearts will be peaceful enough to hear about our Savior. By God’s Grace, many of us get to enjoy things in this life, like clothes, cars, apartments or homes. We get to have good food, clean water and even indoor plumbing. I hope you realize that everything I mentioned is a luxury, that half this world is not privy to, do we get that? Perhaps if more of God’s children understood this, more people would have access to these “luxuries,” since we would show compassion towards those who do not have these basic needs. No guilt trip here, but if it works, then I’m not above it. Being compassionate towards others, this is another financial test.
<>< Peace, Diane
