The Father Loves You By Pete BriscoeSample

Day 8

Heartfelt Compassion

I choose kindness... I will be kind to the poor, for they are alone. Kind to the rich, for they are afraid. And kind to the unkind, for such is how God has treated me. —Max Lucado

I love the passages that talk about God being compassionate.

“…for the LORD your God is gracious and compassionate. He will not turn his face from you if you return to him.” (2 Chronicles 30:9)

“The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate…” (Exodus 34:6)

Verses like these show that God the Father is full of compassion for us. He really cares and He feels that caring toward you and me.

That’s a very radical thought, if you think about it… Compassion simply means “with passion”—but consider the implications of these three words: God. Compassion. You. Your heavenly Father is not mechanical in His love for you; He feels it.

I was in the Philippines with a mission team during college. In one village, we came across a boy with leprosy. He was shunned by all—an untouchable. But the gracious pastor of the tiny evangelical church in town reached out with his hands. He was the only one willing to embrace the boy’s disfigured face, hands, and legs.

But I’ll never forget the morning I came around the corner and found this little boy sitting in the lap of one of my teammates, Randy. Randy had taught him how to play “Patty-cake”. As Randy’s palms made contact with the boy’s stumps, his face burst into a pure smile, and I saw a vivid picture of the compassion of God—but with one big twist… I’m the boy sitting in the lap of my Father God.

Father, sending Your Son to suffer for me was the ultimate form of compassion! Let me see myself as the leprous child on Your lap. Thank You for loving me with a passion only You could muster, for loving me to wholeness. Please help me to see the world through Your eyes so I may also show Your compassion to the world! Amen.