My Dearest Sister,
I started this letter thinking that compassion was going to be an easy topic to write to you about. I don’t know about you, but I’ve always thought that I’ve had a great deal of compassion for people. The story of a friend or even a stranger’s struggles almost never fail to stir my heart and cause me to feel as if I am sharing in their sorrow. After all, I thought, who doesn’t feel sorry for the helpless and the sick, or those who are hurting? And who doesn’t feel distraught when they watch a sad movie? Doesn’t everyone feel compassion to some extent? It just seemed like such a straightforward topic that I wasn’t really sure where to begin. That’s when I figured I should probably look up what Jesus had to say about the matter.
The main thing I noticed was that whenever Jesus showed compassion it was always expressed in the form of an action. Many of Jesus’ encounters with His fellow man begin with the words “He was moved with compassion” and then follow by explaining how He exhibited that compassion to others. Christ even gave us an example of how we are to show compassion in the parable of the good Samaritan in Luke, chapter 10. Maybe you remember the story from Sunday school like I do, but in case you don’t, it goes something like this: A man is walking along a road and gets robbed and nearly beaten to death by thieves. A priest and a Levite each come upon the injured man but pass by him and continue on their way. Then a Samaritan comes along and as verse 33 says, “when he saw him, he had compassion.” Only it doesn’t stop there. Verse 34 goes on to say that the Samaritan “went to him and bandaged his wounds… he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.” And not only that, he paid for the man’s ongoing recovery even after he departed. What a marvelous example of Christ-like love!
I have to admit, I felt very convicted in reading this parable. I had only been thinking of compassion as a feeling one has towards someone in need but Jesus describes it as an action. The Samaritan didn’t just feel sorry for the poor guy who was left for dead, he actually did something about it! Now, I find it interesting that the Bible doesn’t actually say what the attitude of the priest and Levite were as they passed the man in need. Maybe they felt sorry for him, but were just too busy to stop and worry about it. Maybe the priest was late for the evening sacrifice or maybe the Levite was in a hurry to get home to his wife and children. It really doesn’t matter what their reason for not stopping was, the point is that just feeling bad for someone isn’t enough. Compassion is something that is shown. That got me thinking of how many times I’ve seen someone, whether it’s a friend or a stranger, struggling with something in their life and felt bad for them, but never actually did anything about it. Not even something as simple as praying with them or asking what I can do to help. Maybe I’ve been too embarrassed to put myself out there and risk sounding foolish. Or maybe I’ve simply been too busy worrying about my own life to worry about what’s going on in someone else’s. Whatever the reason, I am a bit ashamed to say that I have been like the priest and the Levite, not the good Samaritan.
I want to thank you, dear friend, for in writing this letter to you I have learned that compassion is not a feeling but an action; it is a verb, not a noun and I need to start living like it is so. My mind keeps coming back to the fact that God was so moved with compassion for a lost and fallen world that he gave His beloved Son as a sacrifice to save people like you and I. I think the least we can do in return is share just a fraction of that compassion, that Christ-like love, with others. After all, in 1 John 3:18 God gives us the responsibility as His children to “not love in word or thought, but in deed and truth.” I want that to be my testimony. I don’t just want to feel bad when I see someone in need, I want to be so moved with compassion that it shows.
Thank you for taking the time to read my letter, and thank you too for praying for me as I am called to action!
Your Sister,
Lauren
Satisfaction in a Job Well Done
Dearest Sister,
Contentment is a funny thing, isn’t it? It’s here one minute and gone the next, and at times seems completely subject to circumstances outside our control. Something happened to me last week that I think very well illustrates the fickle nature of contentment. I had just finished cleaning my house – a task I rather enjoy – and had stepped back to admire my hard work. The kitchen was clean, the bathrooms were sparkling, the carpet was dirt-free, and all dust bunnies had been banished. Everything was in its place and I could finally sit down with a relaxing cup of tea and enjoy my perfect little world. Well, for a little while at least. Later that same day, a pair of rambunctious dogs, a husband getting home from work, and a messy spaghetti dinner told a different story: Flight school books and Army boots laid amongst a dozen dog toys with stuffing strewn out all over the floor; Garlic bread crumbs and spaghetti sauce splatter artfully decorated the stove and counter tops while dirty dishes in the sink and muddy paw prints across the kitchen floor completed the ensemble. Sigh. In a matter of a few hours, the satisfaction I had felt in having a beautifully clean home was gone. I was no longer content. Sure, I could have easily cleaned up the messes with a little more hard work, but how long would the next wave of contentment last? A day? A few more hours? You can begin to see the pattern here. My contentment would only last until the very next mess was made. This example acted out in my life helped me to realize that the nature of satisfaction is fleeting – the nature of satisfaction in this world at least.
In our Wednesday night meetings at church, we have been doing a study on God’s truth and how it is so different from the “truths” of the world. Well, a couple of weeks ago the lesson touched on man’s hunger for satisfaction and contentment in life. The world’s answer to contentment is found in career success, close friendships, marriage, and children. It is also the driving force behind the desire for more shallow things such as nice cars, stylish clothes, sexual satisfaction, and well… nice, clean houses. All these things, as fulfilling as some of them are, are not God’s truth regarding contentment. What then is God’s answer to man’s endless hunger for contentment? Jesus’ words in John 6:35 come to mind – “I am the bread of life: he who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.” What a reassurance this promise is in a world full of bread that never satisfies! Have you ever been to a bakery and seen all the different kinds of bread they have for sale? White, wheat, rye, pumpernickel, sourdough, bagels, muffins, pastries, rolls, buns, baguettes and the list goes on! Don’t get me wrong, we need to eat to live; but no matter how delicious or satisfying in the moment, not one kind of bread can promise everlasting relief from hunger the way Jesus can. The distractions of the world work in the same way: Honoring God in our marriages, raising well-behaved children, working hard at our jobs and taking care of our homes and possessions are all important and have their own place in life, but none of those things should take Christ’s place as our main source of contentment and peace.
My dear sister the world is very good at distracting us from this truth. Like so many others, I must confess, I have had my share of looking for contentment in all the wrong places. In my education, my marriage, my various jobs, my friendships and family relationships, and yes, even the cleanness of my house, I have sought a fullness that only Christ can give. I can tell you from personal experience that it is very disheartening to follow the world’s paths to contentment and always reach a dead end. On the other hand, I can also tell you from experience that following God’s path to contentment has been more freeing and satisfying than any other event in my life. That’s not to say that even the most faithful of believers won’t wander from time to time and seek contentment elsewhere. We are only human, living in a fleshly and sinful body. However, if we truly believe that Christ is the the bread of life then we will always find ourselves coming back to the satisfaction only found at His feet and in His word.
As I write to you now sister I long to know; From where does your contentment come? I urge you to ponder this. Do you hunger, as I have often done, for something fleeting? Maybe praise from your boss or recognition from your spouse for a job well done? Appreciation for being a good friend, a loving mother, or a generous person? The satisfaction of a clean, beautiful home? We should all hunger for something far more lasting than this world, or the people and achievements it provides. We need to hunger for Christ, for it is only at His feet where we will find a contentment that completes us and is one that is much more profound than any satisfaction we can find here on earth. It is there for the taking, all we have to do is come. Oh, how wonderful are the promises of God!