A Better WayExemplo

Unquenchable Compassion

Do you sometimes feel numb to the needs of others, or maybe like you just don’t have the capacity to care about all the bad news you hear? 

With our constant connection to news, it’s no wonder that our empathy levels are declining. But all this apathy only leads us to feel empty. 

There’s got to be a better way to live. 

The last verse of 1 Corinthians 12 helps illuminate it for us: 

… But now let me show you a way of life that is best of all. 1 Corinthians 12:31 NLT 

Immediately after that line, Paul continues with what’s known as the love chapter of the Bible. It’s read at weddings, and we often see it woven into people’s vows as they describe the type of love they’d like to have.

But it starts out with this overwhelming call to love and compassion: 

If I could speak all the languages of the earth and of angels, but I didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or clanging cymbal. 1 Corinthians 13:1 NLT 

Without love, we are nothing. And that’s why Jesus’ answer to the question about the greatest two commandments was to love God and to love our neighbor as ourselves. 

After that reply, Jesus went on to tell a story that illustrates what that love and compassion call us to do. We call it the Parable of the Good Samaritan, and in the story, we see an injured man on the side of the road. A priest passes him by, as does a temple assistant. 

Yet, a despised Samaritan shows the man compassion. He tends to his wounds, takes him to an inn, and offers to pay for anything he owes. His compassion leads him to action and sacrifice. 

What’s interesting is what the Samaritan doesn’t do. He doesn’t ask questions or draw conclusions. He instead starts by showing compassion. He doesn’t see a man lying on the side of the road and wonder, “Well, what did he do to deserve this?” He doesn’t condemn him. He cares for him. 

We see this behavior modeled by Jesus in John 8, when the religious leaders asked Jesus’ opinion on what to do to a woman caught in adultery. The law said to stone her, but Jesus saw an opportunity to love her.  

He proposed that anyone without sin throw the first stone, until He—the only one who never sinned—was the only One remaining. Then he met her eye to eye not with a conviction but with an invitation to leave her life of sin and pursue His better way. 

We’re called to live with that same kind of compassion. It’s not our job to convict. Instead, we’re called to connect. 

Pray: God, I realize that I’ve been numbing myself to the pain of others. Help me reject that comfort and instead choose compassion. Break my heart for the things that break Yours, and show me how to connect with others the way You do. In Jesus’ name, amen. 

Practice: Think about one way you can show compassion to someone else today. Then, go do it.