Compassion is the conscious understanding that someone else is experiencing some sort of distress combined with a desire to alleviate that distress.  It is a feeling that is far too uncommon in the world that we live in, but it is something that should be far more common.  Allow me to explain why.

There are a variety of distressing things that affect people each and every day of their lives.  There is poverty, injustice, hate, greed, fear, loneliness, anxiety, intolerance and numerous other things in life that both harm us and separate us(Gal. 5:19-21).  And this world will never get beyond these issues because the world refuses to.  On the contrary, it embraces these distressing attributes(I John 2:15).  However, fear not; things are not as dark as they appear.

As individuals, our greatest source of distress comes from sin(John 14:27).  And the reason sin is our single most significant source of distress is because it creates the worst possible situation that we can possibly experience.  Sin separates us from God.  And although that might not appear to have the same immediacy as poverty or anxiety, it is actually much more detrimental and even more pressing in its urgency.  Because sin separates us from God, we are separated from the following:  the Creator, the Sustainer, Light, Life, Love and host of other attributes that none of us can live without.  We desperately need God.

The Creator

God is our Creator(Gen. 1:27), which means that He understands us better than we understand ourselves.  Human history is rife with people trying to figure out the meaning of life or how we got here or what our purpose in life is(the entire book of Ecclesiastes).  As our Creator, God knows the answers to all of those questions, and yes there are answers to all of those questions.  But when we separate ourselves from our Creator, we separate ourselves from the source that can answer all of those questions.

The Sustainer

To create life is impressive, but if it immediately dies, what is the point?  And because of that, life needs to be preserved or sustained.   God is our Sustainer(Isa. 40:29).  He understands what we need, and He provides it(Phil. 4:19; Matt. 6:31-32).  Now, some might argue that if He knows what we need, how can poverty exist?  After all, poverty is clearly an indication that a need is not being met.  More on this below.

Light

God doesn’t just provide light; He is Light(I John 1:5).  Light is something we need to be able to see our surroundings, to understand the situation we find ourselves in and figure out how to do what needs to be done in that situation.  God’s light provides awareness and information so we can see where we are.

Life

God does not just provide life, God is Life(John 1:3-4; 6:63; 14:6).  God is life incarnate.  And when we separate ourselves from life, all that remains is death(Ps. 16:2).  There is no middle ground.   There is only life(with God) and death(without God).  And who wants death, other than those lost in depths of despair(which results from separation from God)? 

Love

God loves us, but more than that, God is the embodiment of love(I John 4:7 – this one was too easy).  Without God, there can be no love.  Separating ourselves from God separates us from love and the understanding of what love really is.  There can be things remaining that might look like love or are called love, but they are mere perversions of actual love.

Sin Destroys Everything

Sin undoes the beauty of creation.  Sin does not sustain; it deprives.  Sin brings darkness and all the problems associated with darkness(II Pet. 3:7).  Sin does not bring life; it brings death(Rom. 6:23).  Sin does not love; it hates and brings misery.

Compassion – God’s Solution

As our Creator, God understands us better than anyone else(including ourselves) ever could.  As our Sustainer, He understands exactly what we need after we have turned to sin and allowed ourselves to be separated from our Creator.  He brings Light into a world of darkness, that same world of darkness that we helped to create through our own sin.  Whereas sin brought death, God brings Life back into our lives(Rom. 6:23 – again).  And God does all of this through His Love for us(John 3:16). 

That Love was manifested(made flesh) when He sent His Son, His only begotten Son, to pay the penalty for our sins(Gal. 4:4-6).  Why?  Because He had compassion on us!  He perceived our problem(sin) and wanted to alleviate that problem.   He did everything He could when He had His Son pay the penalty for our sins.  In doing so, He offered a gift(grace/forgiveness), but He doesn’t force us to accept His gift; that is up to each of us(Eph. 2:8-9).

God’s compassion for us is unprecedented.  There has never been anything else like it, and there never will be again.

What About the Other Problems?

What about poverty, injustice, hate, greed, fear, loneliness, anxiety, intolerance?  Those physical problems can be over through God.  When we accept His gift/grace(which will result in the forgiveness of our sins), we become part of a family.  God is our Father(Matt. 23:9).  Jesus is our brother(Matt. 12:50; Heb. 2:11).  We are all brothers and sisters.  We are a family that is supposed to be the best family, and our family is supposed to take care of one another.  So where there is poverty, there is aid(Eph. 4:28).  When the world offers injustice, God is the ultimate Justifier(Rom. 3:22-26).  When the world hates, we love(and not just our brothers and sisters(Matt. 5:44).  When the world offers greed, God’s people offer generosity(Eph. 4:28).  When the world generates fear, God’s people do not need to be afraid of anything or anyone(Isa. 41:10).  When the world fosters loneliness, God’s people are a family that drives back that loneliness(John 17:20-21).  Anxiety comes from a variety of causes, but God’s people know that nothing can separate us from the love of God(Rom. 8:31-39), so we do not need to be anxious about anything.  The world is intolerant of a great many things, but God’s intolerance is reserved for sin(Ps. 94:23; II Pet. 3:7) and we should be no different.  He freely offers His gift of life to anyone who will accept it(Gal. 3:28-29).  We need to do the same(offer His gift to anyone).

Our Own Compassion

Compassion is not just from God, or at least it shouldn’t be.  If God is our Father, then we should be like Him.  If He is compassionate(and He is – II Pet. 3:9), then we need to be compassionate just like He is.  We need to look past the things that separate us and have compassion on every person out there who is struggling with sin in their lives, with every person who is being strangled by the sin in their lives.  We cannot alleviate their distress, but we can share with them the God of the universe, who can alleviate their every distress.