Compassion: 30 Days of HeartworkSample

Co-Suffering With Christ

HEART //

How incredible it is that God would call us His children! Because of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, God has brought us into His family and promised us true life in Him. As family, we have the privilege of sharing in the good and the bad, the glory of God, and in His sufferings. As we focus on living compassionately this week, let’s take a better look at what it actually means. 

The original meaning of the word “compassion” means to “suffer with” one another. How are we called to “suffer with” Jesus? Well, let’s think about it this way: To love our neighbor as ourselves means that we are open to feeling what they feel and are willing to put ourselves in their place. This leads us to experience a deep passion to alleviate any suffering they may be experiencing. It leads us to care. Don’t you think God’s heart must break as He feels the suffering of His children who are enslaved by things like poverty, fear and the pursuit of worldly pleasures? How often do we allow our hearts to be touched by the suffering of our fellow humans? 

We are God’s children, and He has given us everything we need to be His hands and feet to those who are suffering around us. We become more like God when we engage our hearts with His and we begin to care about the people He cares about. When we follow in His footsteps, our lives can get a little out of the ordinary, but isn’t that what being a Christian is all about? Putting others first doesn’t always mean selling everything and moving to a poverty-stricken community. But we must know that when we open our hearts and begin caring about the vulnerable people in our world, things will begin to look different ... and for most of us in modern, affluent churches, “different” could be a very good thing. 

WORK //  

Think about this: Worldwide more than 3 million children die from malnutrition each year.* About one out of every nine people worldwide suffer from hunger, and one in three are malnourished.** Most children living in poverty get to eat only one meal each day, which is often a small portion of beans and rice. Take on the challenge of eating beans and rice this week ─ for lunch each day, for an entire day, or for the whole week! As you eat, think about what it would be like to eat that for every meal and have barely enough to survive. 

For your journal: Are you willing to suffer with Jesus even if it means that you may experience uncomfortable conversations or circumstances? 

*www.unicef.org

**www.compassion.com/poverty/hunger.htm