Compassion in Reaching the Lost. - Part 1

^{One of my favorite verses in the bible 1st Thessalonians 2:8 where Paul writes:}

So, affectionately longing for you, we were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God, but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us.

                                                                                  1st Thessalonians 2:8

This verse I think reveals something to us. The Apostle Paul actually loved the people that he shared the gospel with. Wow, there's a concept, right? Whether his original quote or not I don't know, but I heard a very wise pastor named Jack Graham once say, "People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." This certainly was the case in Paul's ministry and I think it is relevant in our efforts to reach the lost today. In fact, it is an important rule of thumb to advancing God's kingdom in the Earth. What is this secret ingredient? It is Compassion!

Compassion: Courtesy of Dictionary.com

n 1: a deep awareness of and sympathy for another's suffering 2: the humane quality of understanding the suffering of others and wanting to do something about it.

Most people have compassion in some ways. Not many can watch a movie or documentary about the holocaust or the slavery in America without feeling compassion for the victims of it. Most people feel nothing but compassion for the starving children we see in Sudan and other countries on TV. As humans God has wired it into us to protect the weak, the young, and the defenseless because we were created in His image. But we need to understand that this compassion has a source and if it has a source then there must be the ultimate compassion at it's source. What is the source of Compassion…it is Jesus Christ!

So let's all look at His examples:

Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.
                                                                         Matthew 9:35  

And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them.                                                                         
                                                                         Matthew 14:14

Now Jesus called His disciples to Himself and said, "I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat. And I do not want to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way."
                                                                         Matthew 15:32

So Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes. And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him.
                                                                        Matthew 20:34

Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, "I am willing; be cleansed."
                                                                        Mark 1:41

However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, "Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you."
                                                                       Mark 5:19

And Jesus, when He came out, saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep not having a shepherd. So He began to teach them many things.
                                                                      Mark 6:34 

Over and over and over…. compassion, compassion, compassion. Are we starting to see  that it's a lifestyle with Jesus and not just a ministry formality? Better yet, Jesus is Compassion and the source of it!

Be sure to read the second half of this Blog by clicking the link here:
Compassion in Reaching the Lost. - Part 2