Compassion: 30 Days of HeartworkSample

We Are Not Alone

HEART //

As we’ve learned this week, our amazing Father gives us wholeness through adoption as sons and daughters. He calls us to love. In our own strength, loving like Jesus loves is unreachable. It can be overwhelming to try and live perfectly on our own. This ultimately leads to another kind of idol — religion. But God, in His perfection, gives us the gift of the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, to live in and through us, as today’s verse so beautifully reminds us.

As humans, we cannot live the Christian life any more perfectly than the Israelites could keep the law. Our Father calls us to live a righteous life, but He does not ask us to do it alone. He gives us His Holy Spirit to live through us. 

When we remove the desire for our best and seek His best, the Spirit can empower us and we experience the strength of God.

The longer we follow God, the more love becomes our way of life. Christianity is not an addition to our lives; it is a new life to live. When we let go of the world and find our identity as children of God, His Spirit grows the character of Christ in our lives. Ephesians 2:10 explains that we were “created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” As we continue this walk in the Spirit, let’s begin next week’s journey into compassion with this idea in mind: I am God’s, and there’s good work He has for me to do! 

WORK //

Ask God to point out a person to whom you can show out-of-the-ordinary kindness today. Maybe for you kids, that looks like eating with someone at lunch who usually eats alone, even though people may laugh. Maybe it looks like playing with a younger sibling who usually gets left out instead of hanging out with your friends. Maybe taking the time to visit an elderly neighbor or bring dinner to a sick friend. In a nutshell, pause the hustle of life for a bit and consider how you can make someone else’s day. And if possible, stay anonymous! 

As we wrap up Identity and move onto looking at Compassion tomorrow, remember that you are defined by Love. It’s who you are. Of course, we don’t all walk in it 100 percent of the time, but we are moving in that direction, even through these 30 days! Take a moment and think: Who will I be ... HOW will I be 1,000 years from now? After centuries in the perfect presence of God, able to love others without pride, insecurity or jealousy? The truth is this: God is making you into that person He’s created you to be. It’s a journey, all the way through life, but it’s exciting and inspiring for today!