Attributes Of CompassionSample

Kindness: Hands of Action

Kindness means “tender concern” and when exhibited, it results in being benevolent and useful to others. Because we have kindness and tender concern, we want to take action and help the person who is in need.

Jesus exhibited kindness on many occasions. It compelled him to stop what He was doing and serve those in need. For example, in one of the verses today, we saw Jesus show kindness and compassion to the people when He healed their sick.

The Bible instructs us that kindness is a fruit of the Spirit—the result of allowing the Holy Spirit to develop maturity in us. Shaun Groves, while traveling with Compassion International learned from a kind pastor in Nicaragua. Read as Shaun shares his experience:

Many miles outside the city of Managua, Nicolausa bends at the waist, plodding through refuse in her green flip flops, rummaging with bare hands, searching for treasure in the trash. A million flies search alongside her…

“I’m here fighting for us, trying to survive working here” she says…

Down a bumpy dirt road from the dump, an oscillating fan stands still in a church office. I sit on the edge of the desk so I can look Pastor Dennis in the eyes. He tells the story of Compassion center NI155 in percussive Spanish…with thick hands and easy laughter…

“We named this center Hands of Compassion. Our logo is two hands. In one is the bible to symbolize the Word of God we give children. In the other hand is a cup to symbolize how we serve children.”…

Pastor Dennis and his twenty-one volunteers bend over school books laid open on little desks, over a hot stove stirring chicken and rice, over a child running a fever.

They bend down beside little ones digging for plastic beside grandmother and invite them away from the dump, into hope, to join Compassion’s program—to receive nutrition, healthcare, education and Jesus. They find treasures in the trash and fight for their survival…

“There is no greater satisfaction than helping people find change,” Pastor Dennis says before we hug goodbye. “When I see children change I just say ‘Wow!’ That’s God’s grace.”

Then he’s back to talking about hands again.

“With Compassion we have become like this.” He fans out his fingers and then brings his hands together, clasping each other. “To do the work of God on earth together.”

We encourage you to read the entirety of Shaun Groves’ blog post.