MARK 6:34  When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd.  So he began teaching them many things.

The compassion of Jesus shows us how we are to act toward others. He is the example to follow.  As those who were lost, and have now been found by God, we should be able to relate to those who are still lost. Those of you who are adult converts probably have a good understanding of this. You remember what it was like to not have a relationship with Jesus. But even those who are life-long Christians know that without God we would be lost and despairing. Though our punishment for sin is removed because of our faith in Christ, we still have the problem of sin in our lives, so we know what our fellow men are going through.

There was a small boy who had lost his right hand in an accident. He felt badly about it and did not want to see anyone. His father said, “I’m going to bring the minister in to see you,” but the boy said, “I don’t want to see him!” The father brought him in anyway, and when the boy looked up, he saw that the minister had no right arm: just an empty sleeve. He said, “I don’t have a hand either. I lost my arm when I was a boy, so I know how it feels.” Naturally it was easy for the boy to talk to this man who “knew how it felt.” So what about those who are still lost? You were there once yourself, you can relate to them, knowing how it felt. Do you have compassion on them, that gut-feeling that leads you to act on their behalf? Are you making an effort to reach them with the message of free salvation through faith in Jesus Christ?  If you follow the example of Jesus, such will be your compassion.

Of course, compassion is to be shown to all men, fellow believers as well as those who have not yet come to faith in Christ. We should be conscious of the need to act upon our feeling of wanting to help. This includes all of our actions and our speaking. And since we do a lot more speaking than anything else, we should be especially sensitive to showing compassion in what we say.

Most of you know that a huge horse can be controlled by a tiny device placed in its mouth, called a bit.  Such a little instrument has a big influence. Likewise, the tongue, although a small part of our anatomy, has an amazingly great impact on our lives. We might tend to underestimate the power of the tongue because it is so small and is hidden away in the mouth.  It produces a product that floats on air, is invisible, and is gone as quickly as it comes into existence–WORDS.  And if you doubt the tremendous impact of words, consider these phrases: “You’re fired.” “It’s cancer.” “She’s dead.” “You blew it.” “What happened to your face?” Think how devastating these words are in your life. Yet words can be just as powerful in a positive sense. “You’re cured.” “You won! “ “Good job!” “You look good today!” “I’m proud of you!” What you say can be a tremendous way of showing compassion to others.  And there is no greater way to speak your compassion than to share the declaration that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the World.

However, words are not enough. It is true that the Word works faith in hearts, and our words can be powerful. The Word of God is what creates faith in the hearts of men, and faith is what saves you through God’s grace. But faith without works is dead. We must practice what we preach. Our compassion for others must take the form of words and deeds. There is an old Japanese fable about a man who died and went to heaven.  When he got there, he was surprised to find a shelf that was completely covered with human tongues. When he asked his heavenly guide about it, the guide explained, “Those are the tongues of people who spoke sweet words about virtue, who said what was right, but never did anything to follow their words. So, their tongues have come to heaven, but the rest of them is somewhere else.”

Make sure your compassion is not like that. You should emulate the feeling of Christ, feeling for others so deeply that not only do you feel it and speak it, but you also act upon those feelings. Your compassion should lead you to volunteer to help when help is needed, even if it might be an unpleasant or distasteful task. It could be as simple as offering to bring someone to church, or as complicated as trying to reconcile yourself to someone with whom you have a long-standing feud. following the example of Jesus, you will visit the sick, pray for those in need, give your offerings to support the church, bring food to the meal being served after a funeral.All these are a part of expressing compassion. You are showing the same kind of concern that God showed for you in
Jesus. And Why? Because you know what it means that Jesus died and rose again
for you. He has given you eternal life. That should have an impact on your life.