BEING AN EXAMPLE
Daphne Powell
Today's Scripture: “Then the Lord said, ‘You feel sorry about the plant, though you did nothing to put it there. It came quickly and died quickly. But Nineveh has more than 120,000 people living in spiritual darkness, not to mention all the animals. Shouldn’t I feel sorry for such a great city?’” Jonah 4:10-11
Theme: Our compassion is often fickle, swelling for things that personally benefit us or bring us comfort while ignoring great tragedies that don’t affect our own lives.
JESUS’ COMPASSION
Sympathy, empathy, concern, kindness, and even consideration are feelings that we should have when we see or know about someone else’s suffering. It should cause us to have a desire to help. Jesus is our example of showing compassion. He didn’t ignore others or wake up and worry about Himself. His day was built around love for others.
He spent His time
- Healing the sick and afflicted;
- Feeding the hungry;
- Comforting the grieving;
- Welcoming the marginalized and the foreigner; and
- Teaching the lost and searching.
YOUR MINDSET
The news can be depressing. Every day there seems to be a new crisis. It’s easy to see the flooding in Nepal, the wars, the natural disasters, or the starving nations and think, “How sad.” We might even put them on our prayer list or donate a few dollars. For most of us, the buck stops there.
But why? It’s a mindset. We wake up worrying about what the day has to bring. A bill, sickness, financial strain. But Jesus, our example, showed that this is the wrong mindset. When we wake up, the first thing we should do is praise and worship. He woke us up this morning! What mercy!
IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU
How can we know His example if we don’t learn from Him? We must stay in His word and read the examples of how He showed compassion. But first, why do you think He showed compassion if He didn’t want us to follow His example. He wants us to focus on others, our neighbors, and not on ourselves.
So many of us put conditions on kindness. We think to ourselves, “I would have time to help someone who is sick, but I’m not feeling my best.” We are all about feeding those who are hungry, yet when we see a homeless person, we can offer them the leftovers, not a meal. We will put people on the prayer list but are too busy to stop by and visit them to share hope and encouragement. We see opportunities to serve but we are too busy that weekend. We see someone and we feel a nudge by the Lord to share His story with them, but we only ran into the grocery store for a few items and don’t have time to stop. Why are people too busy with the world to honor Him by loving others?
WHY IS COMPASSION IMPORTANT?
In 1 John 3:17 (ESV), God reminds us, “But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him?” How can we have the love of God in us, when we won’t show compassion to someone in need? If you have given your life to Christ, it must be more than just reciting a prayer of salvation. True salvation is living life as an example of Him, so that when we see each other, we see a child of God, and show compassion and kindness the way our Father would.
Make It Personal: I must be honest. I came to church this past Sunday thinking the building would be overflowing. I mean they just proved Noah’s Ark, and I said, “This is the moment the non-believers would come to church!” This could be a day of celebration for the believers, but it seems to just be another news cycle, a fifteen minutes of fame storyline. What will get the world’s attention is the way we show God’s love to others.
Pray: Dear Lord, please let us learn to be an example of You with each passing day. By increasing kindness and compassion, we show others Your love and mercy. Help us to live like Jesus lived and so honor you. Amen
Read: Colossians 3:12, Zechariah 7:9, James 2:14-16
Weekly Memory Verse: “Just kill me now, Lord! I’d rather be dead than alive if what I predicted will not happen.” Jonah 4:3, NLT