pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: compassion


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To God

Reading: Psalm 137: 1-9

In our lives we all have experienced loss and suffering to some degree.  Sometimes our loss leaves us questioning God and sometimes a tough loss can leave us angry.  This is especially true when our loss seems unjust or when we struggle to find any explanation at all.

The Israelites understood the root cause of their defeat at the hands of the Babylonians.  They knew their sin and disobedience had brought this upon themselves.  Being defeated and carried off into exile was suffering enough.  But to have Jerusalem, their beautiful city and the home of God, destroyed was too much.  Add to this their local adversaries cheering on the destruction and it was simply too much to bear.  Their tears of sorrow turn into tears of rage and vengeance.  We too can relate to times of suffering in our lives when that ‘one more thing’ pushes us beyond what we can bear.

In the midst of our own suffering, our grief and sorrow can also turn to anger and rage.  It is a natural part of the grieving process to be mad at God.  Our lesson from the Israelites is to bring these emotions to God.  Into God’s presence is the right place to bring our anger and rage.  God expects our honesty and can “handle” anything we bring before the throne.  It is only in God that we find the compassion and comfort that can begin to heal what is heavy upon our heart.  May we lay all of our burdens and sufferings at the feet of God and enter into God’s loving embrace.


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Fruitful Witness 

Reading: Colossians 1: 1-8

The Bible is full of stories of the Word bearing fruit.  The parable of the sower is perhaps the best know story of fruitfulness as it tells of the witness of the believer producing a crop 30, 60, or 100 fold.  In the great commission Jesus compels all disciples to go forth to make disciples of all nations, to grow fruit everywhere we go to spread the kingdom of God.  The Word also speaks of the fruit of our faith in our own lives: peace, joy, patience, kindness,…

Paul opens his letter to the Colossians by commending them for the ways they are being fruitful.  He comments them for their strong faith in Jesus Christ and for the love for one another that grows out of their faith.  Then Paul notes that this love and faith is bearing fruit and growing as others in their community experience these things.  In turn, they are coming to know Christ through the faithful witness of this congregation.  How the Holy Spirit takes the witness to the love and truth of Jesus Christ and causes it to become faith in an unbeliever is one of the great works of God.  There is much rejoicing in heaven each time another accepts Jesus as Lord and Savior!

God’s call to churches everywhere is still the same as we see here in Colossians.  He calls upon us to continue to bring the good news of Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth.  This includes the corners as well: the neighbor next door, the coworker one cubicle over, the classmate across the lab table…  As we bear witness to our faith in our every day lives we are living out the Gospel and we are planting seeds.  As we practice justice, compassion, forgiveness, mercy, and love we are bearing witness to Jesus.  As we allow the Gospel to bear fruit in our lives we are planting seeds of faith in other’s lives.  May we be fruitful today in our witness and may the Holy Spirit move powerfully in people’s hearts.  May our witness come to bear much fruit for the kingdom of God.


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Giving All

Reading: Luke 7: 11-17

In His encounter with the woman outside of Nain, Jesus extends deep compassion.  He sees the funeral procession nearing His group and identifies the woman as the mother of the son who has died.  The deep compassion Jesus feels leads Him to offer her some words of comfort, “Don’t cry”.  Perhaps He chooses these words because He already knows what is coming next.

At times we too have encounters where we can see quickly that one is suffering or is in grief or is somehow afflicted.  Compassion rises up in our hearts as words begin to form in our minds.  We want to offer comfort or relief.  We want to help their situation.  But sometimes we do not know how or maybe we are unsure of what the next step will be so we really do not offer all of the compassion we are capable of giving.  We hold back.  Our words are short and superficial.  Then there is no commitment or need for follow through.

It is unclear whether or not Jesus knew the woman’s situation.  Maybe all He saw was her grief and He was moved with a deep compassion.  Or maybe He knew her full situation.  In either case, Jesus offered all He could.  He followed up His words of comfort with action.  Jesus called to the dead son to get up and He breathed new life into him.

In our encounters with those in need, we sometimes hesitate at the action step.  We pause and ask ourselves what this step of action might cost us.  Maybe we wonder if we really even have anything to offer that will help.  The cost and whether or not we have something to offer are things we should not consider.  What we have to first offer in all situations is free and costs us nothing.  The love of Christ in us should always lead the way.  What comes next is also a gift from God.  All that we have to share is a gift from God.  Whether a physical blessing or a gift such as empathy or compassion, God blesses us so that we can bless others.  God expects us to love freely, to not hold back.  Jesus demands of us what He was willing to give Himself: all.  Jesus gave all of Himself for you and for me.   Let us do the same for Him.


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Offering a Witness

Reading: Psalm 96: 1-9

Psalm 96 calls us to sing praises to God and to declare His gift of salvation day after day.  It reminds us that God is great and majestic and strong.  It urges us to bring an offering to Him and to worship God in the splendor of His holiness.  In these opening verses of the Psalm we get a clear picture of who God is and what our response should be.  The overarching theme of this Psalm is the call to declare our unfaltering allegiance to the one true God.  This is both a corporate and a personal call.

As the church, no matter what the denomination, we are called to proclaim the good news, to worship God alone, and to bring relief to the oppressed and the needy.  As the church this is what God clearly expects of us.  The two greatest commandments – to love God and to live neighbor – are lived out by doing these three things.  Ask a non-believer what a church should do and odds are they will name at least two of these three.  In an ideal world, all churches would be growing in their love of God and changing the world for the better each day.  All churches should be known for their compassion, love, witness, forgiveness, and service.  And all of God’s people said, “Amen”!

But in order for the church to be known for these characteristics, as members of these churches we must first be known individually for these traits.  No one comes to the faith because of a church.  They come to faith by first experiencing what faith lived out looks like.  They experience this vicariously when one loves or serves them in a radical or unexpected way.  It draws them in and opens their hearts so that the Holy Spirit can begin to work in them.  This day and each day, may our lives be the offering we bring to God and may our lives be a living witness to the splendor of His holiness.


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Mentors

Reading: John 14: 25-29

As we go through life, especially when we are younger, we find people that mentor and shape us.  They are people who  see something in us worth investing some of themselves in.  They usually are older and have been through a little bit more of life so they carry wisdom and expertise with them.  They are kind and loving and sacrificial people.  Mentors help us navigate our careers, our families and relationships, our faith.  If we have been mentored we are likely to become a mentor ourselves.

Jesus himself was a mentor.  For the disciples and undoubtedly others who followed Him, Jesus mentored many in their faith and how to live it out.  Indirectly Jesus continues to mentor each of us as we read His Word and apply it to our lives.  But Jesus also knew that the disciples and eventually we would need more than memories or the written recording of them.  He knew we would need an active and alive presence to continue to mold, shape, and guide us.  So Jesus gave mankind the gift of the Holy Spirit.  To all who call on Jesus as Lord and Savior, the Spirit comes and dwells within them.  Once there the Spirit is the constant presence of Jesus, reminding us and teaching us about Jesus and the example He set.

As we think about the people who have poured into our lives, at some point we must also begin to become aware of those around us who could use someone to mentor and shape them.  Other people have poured into us so that one day we too could pour into others.  As we seek this our may we be open to how the Spirit guides and leads us in this as well, always remaining a willing and humble servant.


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The Mind of Christ

Reading: Philippians 2: 5-11

Paul opens chapter two by encouraging us to be like-minded with Christ.  He reminds us of Christ’s love and compassion.  He reminds us to think of others more than ourselves.  On our best days we seek to live out these Christ-like qualities.  Then comes today’s reading.  The first half is like the hard days that will come just after the joyous entry coming on Palm Sunday.

Paul reminds us that Jesus gave up His place on high to come down to earth to live among us.  In doing so, He made himself nothing, becoming a servant to all.  Paul reminds us that Christ became obedient, even to the point of death on a cross for our benefit.  Paul calls us to have the mind of Christ.

Our culture instead raises up power, wealth, and status as the goals.  There are calls to attain these things almost without regard to the personal cost.  To those whose mind is set on these things, the concept of being a servant is distant.  The ideas of being humble and obedient are foreign.

God also calls us to lay aside our places on high – our places of privilege and power – in order to step into the lives of our fellow man.  He calls us to find ways to serve one another.  God calls us to be willing to sacrifice self for others.  Just like Jesus, we are called to a radical lifestyle, one built around love and compassion and mercy.

To take on the mind of Christ means we lift others up instead of trampling them on our way to the top.  To take on the mind of Christ means we stop and help another in need instead of staying on the road to excess.  To take on the mind of Christ means we yield up our will and become obedient to God’s will.  May we ever more seek to have the mind of Christ.


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The Same Love

Reading: Luke 15: 1-3 and 11b-32

Today’s parable is sometimes read as about being lost.  All people experience times when we would consider ourselves to be ‘lost’.  Maybe our time was short, like at college, or maybe it was a longer season in life.  Maybe we had an extended period in life when we lived a life we really do not want to recall.

The younger son in this parable certainly fits this description.  After a period of wild living he comes to place of remorse and returns home.  He know his choices have been wrong and he acknowledges that he has sinned again God and against his earthly father.  Both offer compassion, understanding, forgiveness, and accept him back without any conditions or stipulations.  They treat him like he has never been gone.  That is what is so amazing about grace.  It is a great example and reminder for us.  No matter what we have done and no matter what we have become, God eagerly awaits our return so that we can be reconciled to Him.

The older brother is certainly lost as well.  He may have never physically left the estate, but he seems lost to his father’s love as well.  He reminds me of one who comes to church out of a sense of obligation, just going through the motions and never really connecting to God or anybody.  There but always wanting to be someplace else.  The older son is showing up every day for work because he is supposed to, not because he loves the job or the boss.  We see this manifest itself in his reaction to how his brother is received back home.  Forgiveness is difficult in his hardened heart.  But it is possible.

The father demonstrates the same love for both sons – the physically lost and the spiritually lost.  He runs to both and offers love, compassion, understanding, forgiveness, and acceptance.  No matter what we have done and no matter how lost we are, God offers all of His children the same.


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Clothe Ourselves Well

We are often concerned with what we wear.  We like to look good or at least be presentable!  If our hair is a little wild or our make-up a little smudged, we neaten it up a bit.  Many will give themselves a quick once over in the mirror to make sure they can be seen in public.

In our reading from Colossians, we are also instructed to put on more than clothes each day.  We are also called to put on compassion and kindness and humility.  These traits help us to see others as God sees them and to treat all as worthy of God’s love and of our love.  They help us to see the person and not their circumstances.

We are also called to put on gentleness and patience.  These two traits help us to treat people as God would treat them.  When we are gentle and patient we understand that some people require more time and attention than others and we are willing to offer this.  They help us to invest both deeply and long term in others so we can build relationships.

And we are called to forgive as God forgives us.  This encompasses two main components: there is no limit to how many times to forgive and it is a gift freely given with no strings attached.  People who are in need often walk a hard path in life.  It is easy to stumble along this path.  Clothing ourselves with forgiveness allows us to give mercy and encouragement over and over and over.  This shows we are in it for the long haul.

Lastly we are called to cover all of these traits in love.  It binds the other traits together in the perfect unity of the love of Jesus Christ.  This love of Christ must be what motivates all the others as well.  We cannot be compassionate, kind, … without the love of Christ being the driving force.  Without love the other traits will falter and fail.  May we clothe ourselves well this day so that all we meet can see Jesus Christ within us and experience His love shining forth from inside of us.

Scripture reference: Colossians 3: 12-14


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Walk Where He Leads

In her deep distress and anguish, Hannah prays.  She cries out to God with groans and sighs and the silent moving of her lips.  I can picture her maybe shifting from foot to foot; perhaps her head is bobbing in a steady rhythm as she prays.  Hannah is so lost in her prayer that Eli, the priest, assumes she is drunk.

One can also get lost in God because you are so in love with Him.  King David, filled with the Spirit, danced and sang before the Lord.  Almost as if to some of the horrified onlookers, David said he would become even more undignified than this.  In a huff of embarrassment or disgust, some stormed away.

Although the content of their prayers are on the opposite end of the spectrum, Hannah and David have much in common.  First and foremost is their absolute passion for God and their relationship with Him.  Second, they pour out their hearts in reckless abandon – they do not care one bit what others think – it is just them and God.

On occasion one enters into this space.  Maybe it is during a hymn or song and suddenly tears arr streaming down the cheeks and the heart is filled with the presence of God.  Maybe it is when one steps out for God and offers an act of compassion or mercy for another.  Afterwards, one looks back and thinks, ‘I can’t believe I did that.’

This day may we each encounter God in a special, life-changing way.  Allow God to lead.  Walk where He leads.

Scripture reference: 1 Samuel 1: 9-20


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Faith and Mystery

The book of Job has a happy ending.  Job’s suffering ends and God restored him beyond all he had before.  Job is blessed with large herds, many sons, and beautiful daughters.  He lives for 140 years as a very blessed and dies full of life.  One could say all ends well but our questions are left unanswered.  We do not know why Job had to endure this trial.  We do not know Job’s take on what happened either.  In the end we see that God remains mysterious.  For our faith, this mystery is essential.

Try as we might, mankind cannot explain all that is in the world.  There is much that has been figured out but we only seem to be able to go so far.  Great minds have studied and observed and analyzed and calculated to learn much.  We can split atoms and see far into space.  We can trace the evolution and extinction of many species.  We can replace hearts and we can restart hearts.  Yet there is much that cannot be explained by scientists, doctors, mathematicians…  Events and things that happened and happen remain a mystery.  In our world miracles still occur and a shrug of the shoulders is the best explanation that can be offered in intelligent response.

There is still mystery to God as well.  There are may questions that cannot be answered.  The ‘why’ questions of life and death and illness remain as do the ‘how’ of miracles that occur.  There is much we do not know of God.  But there is also much we do know.  God is love, compassion, peace, comfort, understanding, forgiveness, mercy, grace.  He has plans for each of us and those plans are good.  Yet there is still much mystery and this is also good.  Faith and hope are still required of us in our relationship with God.  Faith draws upon trust and experience.  As we live out this life in relationship with God, our faith grows.  In faith and hope, we live with the mystery of God because above all else, we know that God is love.

Scripture reference: Job 42: 10-17