Cultivating a Heart of Compassion for KidsНамуна

Day 2: Compassion in Understanding

Have you ever done something that you shouldn’t have done? You made a HUGE mistake and felt like nobody was going to be able to forgive you for making that mistake. So, you try to hide that you are the one who made the mistake, but you start living with this feeling of shame and guilt. You are scared to tell anyone because you don’t think they would understand and would just judge you.

In our Bible Story today, the lady we are reading about was feeling that way. She did something wrong and was doing things that she should not be doing. The religious leaders didn’t try to help this woman. Instead, they decided to put her in front of a crowd and tell everyone what she had done and throw rocks at her. Rather than help her make better choices, they chose to shame her and condemn her because of the bad choices she had been making. The woman needed help and for her life to change, but she also needed someone to show her compassion in understanding, meet her where she is and extend mercy, grace, and love to help her get past this sin she was struggling with.

A lot of times when we see people who are struggling with sin, all we see is the sin. We have a hard time looking past the sin and seeing the person who is need of knowing God loves them and sent His Son Jesus to die for them.

In our lives, we will meet people to whom God wants us to show compassion in understanding and meeting them where they are. Jesus did that for this woman. He knew that her life needed to change, and He knew that throwing stones at her wouldn’t bring about the change. Instead, he chose a gentle approach in correcting her.

The truth is, we all sin and make mistakes and God does that for us. He sent Jesus to die for us so we could be forgiven for our sins. We need to rely on the leading of the Holy Spirit to help us share the truth in love with others and help them learn about how much God loves them too.

Dear God, help me to show compassion towards others by understanding and meeting them where they are. Help me not to judge, but to love others and show them Your love. Amen.