Cultivating a Heart of CompassionSample

Day 5: Compassion in Action

Have you ever been so overwhelmed by an issue that you had no idea how to help? This is exactly how the disciples feel in John 6. There is a huge crowd following them that wants to hear more from Jesus and see miraculous signs. There is a huge problem though; they don’t have food to feed all the people. The disciples start to stress out because they don’t have enough money to feed this massive number of people. In Matthew, Mark, and Luke, the disciples say that the people should go away to get their own food.

The disciples saw the need, but lacked compassion to take action to fill the need. Jesus saw that the people were in need and knew that He was able to meet the need. The disciples were also missing out on the fact that if anyone could meet a seemingly impossible need it was Jesus! Jesus does exactly that—he takes a young boy's lunch and multiplies it to feed the whole crowd.

There will always be people in need around us. We have two options on how we respond. Our first option is to send them away like the disciples wanted to do. We may think to ourselves, “Well they put themselves in this position and they can get themselves out.” Our other option is to respond to the need the way Jesus does—to stop and meet the need. We may not have all the answers or resources to meet the needs of people, but we serve a God who does! God will help supply all that we need when we stop to care for His people.

1 John 3:18 says, “Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.” Let’s be people who don’t just walk around saying we care about others, but let’s live it out in all that we do!

What needs have you been ignoring around you? What needs do you know of that you need to trust God to help provide for?