Compassion

One thought that stood out to me yesterday was how much compassion Jesus had for the people who surrounded him. A quick search of Bible Gateway shows several places in the Bible where that is mentioned...for example, 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 pertinent question clearly is how can I show compassion for those around me? And I quickly thought of two answers to that. One situation involved making some food and taking it over to a neighbor family that has been sick. The other involved calling another neighbor, a woman whom I met last fall at our neighborhood potluck, and inviting her and her children to come over some time to play and talk.

It was fun this morning to talk with Josiah about what I had learned yesterday and how I was trying to apply it to my life. I know that it's so important for him to see faith lived out in my life and Jeff's...and for us to take the time to talk with him about what we're learning and how we're trying to change to become more like Jesus. Too many times, we look "perfect" to him--imagine that! It's hard to believe when my own imperfections overwhelm me so many times! But it's important for him to see us falling down and getting back up...and through it all, relying on God's mercy and forgiveness to sustain us.