Compassion: God's Compassionate HeartSample

Be a Comforter

Have you ever received deep comfort from someone in a time of desperation? How did you experience God’s compassion through that kindness?

Those in the earliest churches had their lives transformed by an experience of God’s compassion as described in the book of Acts. During Jesus’ ministry, many of them witnessed his tenderness toward the poor and oppressed, saw him killed at the hands of people he loved and experienced the hope that his resurrection offered. This experience apparently transformed everything about them.

The people sacrificially extend God’s compassionate comfort to others by giving freely to the poor and sharing everything they have with one another (Acts 2:44-47). Then, when Stephen is put to death for following Jesus, he displays Jesus-like compassion toward those who kill him by praying for their forgiveness (Acts 7:60; cross-reference Luke 23:34). Their individual lives, and the community they are forming, both seem to be driven by compassionate love for one another and all neighbors.

God offers his compassionate comfort to each one of us, and he invites us to respond just as the early Church did —by looking for ways to share that comfort with others.

Reflection:

In what ways would you say you have experienced God’s compassion and the comfort it offers? Take some time to share stories with one another and, perhaps, spend more time collectively thanking God for his compassion.

Who in our world, or in your own life, needs compassionate comfort today? What would it look like for you to give them that comfort?