Acts 10:38how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.
His ministry was one of Compassion, and this was wherever He walked. If you end up going anywhere in this world you will need compassion towards people to share the gospel with them. The Religious community wishes to rely on promotion of their Doctrine (which is important), but this will not open a person's heart for the seed of the gospel to be planted. Once a persons basic needs are met, hunger, shelter, protection, deliverance from addiction, clothing, or any other basic need, then their heart becomes opened to the gospel. In showing compassion you are showing the love of Christ.
1st Corinthians 13 tells us without love - it's all meaningless! Also, Compassion is what God will use to separate the His Sheep from the goats one day.
"When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.
And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.' "Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.'
"Then He will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.' "Then they also will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?' Then He will answer them, saying, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.' And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."
Matthew 25:31-46
The above passage is a very sobering reality that will occur one day. On that day God will examine hearts and will know who are His and who are not. A sinner's prayer alone won't cut it. You can be baptized 100 times and it won't be enough. For compassion for people is the evidence that will show if you are indeed following Jesus Christ as both LORD & SAVIOR. Jesus said, "if you love Me you will obey my commandments." ...and He is looking for those who will completely surrender to Him and allow the Holy Spirit to transform them into His image - an image of a compassionate, loving, giving, humble, servant to others, and one who shares the good news about Him.
Okay, but how do we get there?
The first thing we need to do is look at people's needs. This means to take our focus from ourselves and to esteem others more. Killing the critical spirit is essential if we are to minister as Christ did. Being overly cynical towards people can kill our compassion. Maybe the guy holding the "WILL WORK FOR FOOD" sign really is a person in need and not just a bum gathering money for the liquor store. Besides, if he is going to get drunk with the money you gave him, then we should have empathy for him as a man with an addiction. Jesus can set him free, so shouldn't we introduce them to each other?
A problem that I personally have struggled with is people collecting ill-gotten income dishonestly. This is an epidemic problem in this area and for some reason I've always felt entitled to sit in judgment over people doing this. It's easy to fall into a bad attitude when we are struggling and working ourselves, but we need to remember Jesus will judge - But we need to help people without profiling them as "lazy." But what if they take advantage of us? If they do then God will judge them for it.
We need to develop a Strategy for an effective outreach based on meeting people's needs. Look around your community for the existing needs people have and consider ways you can help meet them. You will need to also examine your abilities and spiritual gifting. Speak to your pastor about ways you can volunteer. He may direct you to a ministry the church is active in or to an outside program in the community. As you begin to make the difference in other's lives you will begin to feel the Compassion of Jesus rise up within you. I can tell you there is no better feeling!
God Bless!
God Bless!
