Comfort Zone: Stretching Beyond Your LimitsSample

“You may call God love; you may call God goodness; but the best name for God is compassion.”—Meister Eckhart

In the Gospels, Jesus is described as having compassion twelve different times. In one of those places (Matthew 9:36), the scene is described this way,

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

So what is compassion exactly? Compassion is noticing somebody’s difficult situation—and then doing something about it. Just like this verse suggests, everywhere Jesus went, the crowds would follow. Who could blame them? Jesus, from the very beginning, caught people’s attention in the most unusual ways.

He healed people’s diseases. He cured lifelong deformities.

He spoke with an understanding of God that stunned those listening.

So everywhere Jesus went, the crowds followed. They followed him to see the latest and greatest miracle he would perform—and most of the time, Jesus did not disappoint. But Jesus didn’t perform miracles like a one-man circus act complete with a loud “TA-DA!” at the end. He didn’t take a bow, sign autographs, and ask for tips after each one.

The word “compassion” means "to suffer with," which is exactly what Jesus did. He didn’t just notice people’s misfortunes; he suffered with them. His goal wasn’t to simply fix their problems, but to see them as individuals to care for, not just problems to solve.

And Jesus asks us to do the same. Of course, Jesus had some advantages we don’t. None of us has mastered the whole miracle thing. But, it was more than Jesus’ ability to heal that made him compassionate. It was his ability to pay attention to others.

This is one big way we get to be like Jesus.

Serving begins with noticing. Noticing a need. Noticing a person ... then deciding to care about that person. Sure, we need to care about the problem, but we need to care about the person with the problem more. That’s how Jesus showed compassion.

Jesus saw more than a body needing help. He saw people sick from loneliness and heartache. He saw people broken from hurt and insecurity. He saw people ill with fear and uncertainty. He decided to care and then to do something. And we don’t have to be God’s Son to do the same.

Rodney Anderson

Singles Director