Portrait of God: Rediscovering the Attributes of God Through the Stories of His PeopleSample

The God of Compassion

In today’s Scripture reading from John 4, we see that Jesus needed to get to Galilee, so He took the shortest and best route … through Samaria, home of a people disliked and disapproved by most Jews. He didn’t buy into the cultural pressure to stay away from “those people.” He walked right into the midst of them and found someone who needed to hear the gospel—a woman came to draw water.

Now, women in first-century Palestine were treated as second-rate humans. Not only was this person a woman, but she was a Samaritan woman. And to make matters even worse, she was a Samaritan woman who had been in multiple marriages!

But Jesus saw right through all this into who she really was.

Each person is made in the image of God according to Genesis 1:27 and is worth the blood of the Son of God according to John 3:16. Understanding this woman’s value, Jesus asks her for a drink of water. By doing this, He sends a message that He sees her. That she is valuable to Him. And that He doesn’t view her as someone unlovable or untouchable.

God is not distant from people’s pain. “The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love” (Psalm 103:8). He “wants all people to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). And if we know this God, then we must respond to His deep compassion.

In every conversation we have with someone, we would do well to remember the person’s “Genesis 1:26 value” and “John 3:16 value.” He or she was created in the image of God and is worth the blood of the Son of God! Every person on this planet is infinitely valuable to God and loved by God. Treat people accordingly. It will bring God so much joy!

How could you work to share the message of the gospel with others while also displaying the love of God in practical ways?