Thrive: The Five Pillars of Fruitful RelationshipsSample

Compassion in Action

There’s a quote that says, “It's the people closest to you who hurt you the most.” As imperfect people, even on our best day, we are bound to misspeak, offend, and fall short in our friendships. So if we believe that hurt is inevitable in friendships, how do we manage it? The answer is compassion. We’re defining compassion as an empathetic response and concern for the needs of others. Compassion is the fourth pillar because it invites grace and kindness into our friendships. 

Compassion is essential. In fact, it is the tool we use to manage the hurt, disappointment, and pain that occurs in all friendships. We can look at the life of Jesus and see compassion in action. As we receive the genuine and compassionate love of our Savior, it changes our hearts, our lives and our friendships, and enables us to freely extend compassion to those around us. Without Jesus, our attempts at compassion are reduced to empty apologies and hardened hearts.  

Here are three ways we can put compassion in action: 

1. We Seek the Good: Compassion helps us assume the best. It invites us to consider the person’s heart for us beyond the current disagreement, and it invites empathy.  
2. We Build Intimacy: Compassion creates a safe space for us to be our true selves. It takes the pressure off of us to appear perfect and makes room for vulnerability. 
3. We Fight to Forgive: Compassion takes the burden off of us to be the judge and the jury. Instead, we push through our feelings to see others as children of God. This enables us to forgive, just as we have been forgiven.

When we put compassion in action, we walk out our faith in tangible and noticeable ways, which points people back to Christ. As we rely on him to be our source, he strengthens us to show compassion generously in all of our friendships. 

Pray: Lord, I want to extend compassion to those around me, but first I need to receive your compassionate love. Help me to receive it freely and generously extend it to those around me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Reflect: In which friendships do you struggle to show compassion? Ask God to reveal the source of this struggle and show you how to put compassion in action.