A Life of Compassion

"mourn with those who mourn" ~Romans 12:15

I don't want to.

I don't want to mourn when I am in mourning, why would I want to mourn with other people?

Notice the wording in this verse...it does not say "mourn FOR those who mourn", its says we should mourn WITH them. What's the difference? Mourning FOR someone includes a momentary sharing of sorrow. We don't seek to feel the pain of the person, we simply feel bad that they are in pain.

Mourning WITH someone means seeking to share in the exact pain they are going through. We cry out to God with the same passion and fervor that they do. And if they aren't crying out to God, we are doing it for them...with everything we have....just as if we were the ones facing the pain.

That's hard!

I think mourning with those who mourn goes hand in hand with living a life of compassion.

To me living a life of compassion goes so much deeper than just having compassion. Having compassion isn't really hard. If we have Jesus in our heart, then our hearts are softening and we will feel compassion for those that are hurting. When we see someone hurting, we will hurt because they hurt.

Living a life of compassion means that we become a part of that hurt...choosing not to make ourselves feel better, but instead walking with that person through their hurt. You don't feel better until God has come and healed the hurt.

The word compassion comes from the Latin "compati". From com- "together" + pati "to suffer"...to suffer together.

I am pretty good at making myself feel better...distancing myself from situations that are hard for me to handle. Its not hard for me to say, "I'm so sorry, I will pray for you" and then go home, hang out with friends and move on from whatever pain that person was feeling. I might even think about them later, and even pray for them regularly...but I in no way mourn WITH them.

Here's another interesting fact about compassion...EVERY time the bible says Jesus had compassion toward someone, HE DID SOMETHING ABOUT IT.

Matthew 14:14: "He (Jesus) had compassion on them and healed their sick."

Matthew 15:32: "I (Jesus)have compassion for these people, they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat..." Right after this, he took some bread and fish, multiplied it and fed everyone; and then some.

Matthew 20:34: " Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him."

Mark 1:41: " Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" And the leper was healed.


So, what do we do with our compassion? Well, that depends on the situation. There is no denying, however, that we should DO something.

Praying can be doing...but it isn't always. You know what I'm talking about. You know the difference between simply praying for someone, and going before the Father begging him to do what you can't...begging Him to do something.

Its the difference between looking at a leper and saying, "I will pray for you", or looking at him and saying, "Lord, this man is in pain. Every where he goes he is the outcast. He doesn't have feeling in his limbs, but his heart is constantly in pain. Father, I am on my knees before you asking for your healing hand to restore this man. Only you can heal him. Father, I have no idea what your plans are for this man's physical body, but I know that you love him more than I could ever imagine. I know that you know the depths of his heart, and whatever physical ailments he faces, your desire is for his heart to be whole and in your hands. Lord do that. With all that I am and with all that I have, Lord I pray that you would do that".

How often do I pray like that?

And even harder...how often is God calling me to reach out my hand to actually do something, but I don't. The reasons I don't range from I don't have time, to it would be too hard, to I just don't feel like it. Regardless, I don't really do anything.

As if that isn't enough, living a life of compassion means wanting God more than anything...ANYTHING else. Compassion doesn't come naturally to us, pity does.

The other day J asked me, "Do you think we want the teens to love God more than they want to?"

I think that is a good definition of compassion. I want God for them more than they do...and I do something about it.

Part of that "doing" something is going to God Squad, Teen Club, etc. Part of that is crying before the Lord asking Him to reveal Himself to them. And the hardest part, is trusting the Lord with them when they seem to be faltering. A life of compassion means that every step backward that they take brings me to my knees before the Lord, begging for Him to heal them. It means NEVER throwing my hands in the air, NEVER uttering the word "hopeless"...it means no matter how frustrating or painful, NEVER quitting.

I'm really writing all of this as a conversation I need to have with myself. Everything that I wrote is SO hard for me to live out. I feel like I am constantly being stretched way outside myself, and I am constantly faced with the desire to say, "that's enough, I can't take anymore!".

I argue with God about why I have to be stretched so far and tell him my desire to get to a comfortable place and just stay there. Why do I have to be the one crying every night for Dario? Why do I hurt so bad when he chooses his girlfriend over God?

Why do I struggle and work so hard to stay here in Philadelphia...when so many desires of my heart are so unfulfilled? I mean, the least God can do is give me a husband, or at least stop the chaos on Pedro and Miguel's house.

Compassion means no matter how long it takes, how painful it is...no matter how many times I yell, argue, cry, and threaten to quit...I will still cry for Dario. No matter what desires in my life go unfulfilled, I will love Bonita and Linda with all my heart. No matter how many ridiculous temper tantrums Pedro throws...well, thats just it. They don't matter.

I thank God for His heart of compassion; the heart that led Him to leave heaven and come to earth so He could be a God that shares in our every suffering. His heart of compassion that took Him to the depths of sorrow and despair simply so that I could be with Him. His heart of compassion that brought Him so such intense sorrow that He SWEAT BLOOD. His heart of compassion that brought Him more pain...physical, emotion and spiritual...than I could even begin to imagine.

I am sure I will soon regret this statement...I want that heart. I really do.