The Year To Show Compassion

2017 A Year to Increase Compassion Kelly Durant 1-7-17

1 John 3:16

16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 1 John 3:17

But whoso hath this world's good, and sees his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwells the love of God in him?

2. According to a Miami Herald article that I found last week, people here don’t care for each other in our neighborhood. (http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article123076079.html) Observe that we see that Miami, and Hialeah rank almost at the very bottom of 100 cities in the U.S.A. in showing compassion on people with needs. In other words, we live in one of the coldest hearted cities in America! I am not surprised by this discovery, you and I can feel it day to day from our neighbors. There are many nice people here but it is obvious many people have never been taught nor exposed to what showing compassion really means.

Many of you may not even perceive this sad phenomenon though. This level of indifference and rudeness is just normal for you in your day to day actions. What we are focusing in on here is nothing new as Jesus told us that “the love of many will wax cold”. Sadly, our expectancy in this decaying world is that year after it will be getting worse.

But look at with this focus, the people of the world are getting worse but it should not be that way with us who know to live differently with God’s love! We are renewed from day to day with Jesus and the Holy Spirit and we should be getting warmer and more loving, caring, and compassionate from day to day.

Today let’s examine ourselves and our immediate surroundings as they relate to how we are serving one another. You and I live here and we must do an assessment, are we a part of the problem, or a part of the solution? Now that a year has gone by, have you assessed all that has happened to you? People that knew you a year ago, what do they think of you now? What does God think of you? Only you know the secrets He will hold you accountable for. What about all that has happened in our community and what could you or I have done to make it better?

3. The question of the day is: How much compassion do you have really have for others? What you think about yourself and what God and others perceive could be very different. Proverbs 21:2 Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the Lord pondereth the hearts.

There are many verses in the Bible that command us to show compassion but few people make big progress towards this. In the verses of today in 1 John 3 it basically helps you to see that a person that says they love God and do not do anything to help those in need is basically lying. Words must be accompanied by deeds to be true.

I have talked to hundreds of people that have had bad experiences with pretend be Christians. These people explained that they needed something emotionally, spiritually, or physically and that the church’s pastor or leaders let them down. Have you ever been let down? Have you ever let someone down? Jesus never let anyone down, he fed 5,000 that later He said some were following Him just for the food; Jesus healed the sick that often did not thank Him like only 1 leper out of 10, but He preached and gave love as God’s main message even though in the end He was not loved and appreciated by all.

Showing compassion for others proves you love God! Like in Matthew 25:43-45

43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.

44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?

45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.

4. Have you ever thought about it but you cannot be made to show compassion? It’s like that Bonnie Raitt song that says, “I can’t’ make you love me if you don’t, I can’t make your heart feel something it won’t.” The reality is that unless a person is a true Christian and fully decided to live practicing the love of God as Jesus did it, there is no chance of that person ever having compassion come out of their heart causing them to do something good for someone without personal interest.