Dear Sisters,
I am writing this letter as much to myself as to anyone else.  You see, I am a very compassionate person, but not always as compassionate to the people very closest to me as I could be.  Have you noticed how hard it is to practice kindness and compassion towards the people we see every day and perhaps live with? 

 Our Jesus knew compassion, and I dare say it was not only because He was God and that He is love defined, I’d say it was also because He chose to show grace to the many people He rubbed shoulders with, whether it was his close family, the disciples (beloved or not) and the masses.  Even His dealings with the Pharisees showed compassion, as I believe speaking the truth is one part of compassion. 

 I find that showing grace and compassion to my dear spouse is not quite as easy or natural as I had hoped, now that I am almost six months into the beautiful mystery of marriage.  I’m in love with the guy, so why is it that I can spout endearments and harsh comments out of the same lips?  (James 3: 10-12) Please say I am not alone.  In fact, if you are reading this and you are breathing, I’m sure you know quite well what I speak of, this dichotomy between where we are and where we want to be, the love and compassion we desire to show and the amount of grace and compassion we actually DO show.  A dangerous question (and also a book by this same title…) is, “What is it like to be married [or live with/work with, etc.] me?”  Are we living in a way that would provide the answer we hope for?   

 And yet to you, dear reader, and to myself, though we have held up the mirror and perhaps we do not see something we like, I also offer grace to you…and I rest in the grace that I know is offered me.  Even the great Apostle Paul was not what he desired he might be (Romans 7:14-25).  Resting in the grace that God has started a work in us and HE will complete it, well, is that not comforting to us all?  The very God of compassion, the author of this divine gift and glue that melds and molds each of our relationships, He WILL complete the work that He has started in us (Philippians 1:6), including the task of making us each more loving and compassionate as the days pass.  Hold fast to the depths of His love, and I am certain that you, as well as I, will see it seeping through our pores, coming out in our words and actions, and coming to life in the grand and simple lives that we live. 

Isn’t it divine to be a child of the Great God of all Compassion?  Truly we have been shown this compassion, and as we rest in the compassion He offers us, I am confident that we will begin to show it more and more.  May I leave you with this final quote from Matthew Fox:  “Compassion is a spirituality of meat, not milk, of adults, not children; of love, not masochism; of justice, not philanthropy.  It requires maturity, a big heart, a willingness to risk, and imagination.”  Dare to take a step in that direction today!

 Your sister,
Ruth

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

Hello, again, Sister,

As I ministered in Colombia, South America, last week, I was taken by the humble way of life that is common for even the privileged.  The Colombian people are experts at restraint, reserve and resourcefulness.  There are those who have much, and those who have little.  

Colombia is rich in natural resources and food supply.  The people hold education in high regard.  Their work ethic is exemplary.  And in ministry, wow!  These Dear Ones are wallowing in the Gospel of Grace.  Colombia is fertile territory for Biblical Truth, and the people desire to learn more about Salvation.  

That desire comes from God’s compassion on Colombian souls.  

God’s compassion is profound, personal and perpetual.  The psalmist spared no words when he described God’s compassion, “As a father pities his children, so the LORD pities those who fear Him.  For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.” (Psalm 103: 13-14)  The heart is the home where compassion starts.  

When God pities us, He is pouring out His compassion on us—our frailty, our feebleness, our fault.  It is a great place to be—in the heart of God.

As I taught the Book of Ruth to various groups of women, I realized more and more that God is smiling on this beautiful, colorful country.  Sweet Sister, you, I and the ladies at the Bible study in the Andes Mountains are the blessed recipients of God’s compassion that saved us.  

Please continue to pray for my ministry to OUR Sisters in Colombia.  

Blessings to you,

Mimi

 

 

My dear sister,

I am a little nervous to be writing to you, dear one, about compassion, for I feel it is something that I know very little about, or at least I haven’t taken the time to practice it as often as I should. I have realized that I spend so much time thinking about myself that I leave very little time for thinking about others, much less reaching out to them in their time of need. So to change that, this Labor Day weekend as I was thinking about what I was going to write to you, I asked the Lord to teach me compassion. For whom better to learn from than the One who has shown us the greatest compassion imaginable?

I first decided to consult a dictionary on the matter. Webster’s Dictionary defines compassion as “a sensation of sorrow excited by the distress or misfortunes of another; pity.” An accurate definition but I found the definition provided by Dictionary.com of much more use. It defines compassion as “a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering.” I think we are all familiar with compassion in the sense that we often experience it involuntarily that is without thinking about it. We feel it when we learn that a friend has lost a parent or a child, or when a friend suffers from an accident that leaves them blind or paralyzes them. But how often do we, dear one, purposely practice compassion? Just as our dear sister, Colleen, mentioned, in the Bible compassion is often coupled with an action. Jesus felt compassion for a blind man and he healed him. So we see repeatedly throughout Scripture that this abstract emotion is, more often than not, followed by a concrete action.

Earlier I mentioned that I asked the Lord to teach me compassion. Well, as always, He was faithful. Just yesterday He began teaching me. In this first lesson, He provided an opportunity for me to express compassion to a friend going through a difficult time. As she expressed to me her deepest fears, my heart was filled with sympathy and sorrow for her situation. I wanted to help her through this difficult time as much as I was able. I rejoiced in the opportunity to remind her of Christ’s love for her and to preach the gospel to her, and tell her that God will never forsake her, even if everyone in this world does. I was able to proclaim to her that Christ is able to fill even the deepest longings of our souls and that He will bring us through even the most bitter of sorrows with the most glorious triumph. As her situation persists, I am able to serve as an encouragement to her and this not only lifts her up but also gives me fulfillment as I carry out a God-given role of friendship and sisterhood.

If you, dear sister, feel you need to grow in compassion, as I do, ask the Lord to teach you. He is more than willing to do so and unlike our earthly mentors, He is available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

 

In the love of our Lord Jesus Christ,

 

Kayla