Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Colossians 3:12
When I think of people who are compassionate, my friend Amy comes to mind. Amy is the youngest member in our First Place for Health group and she has been such a blessing to the rest of us. Amy has not been able to have any biological children, but she and her husband adopted a dear little boy for whom they provide a loving home. She has such genuine love and compassion for children and orphans that she went to China last summer to volunteer her time in an orphanage to just love on those children. Recently, God opened the door for her to adopt a child with special needs, and it has been very exciting to watch this process unfold. We group members feel like we are going through the adoption process with her, and each week we wait with eager anticipation to hear the latest developments. When she goes back to China to bring her next child home, we know that child will have the opportunity to grow up in a home where compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience are lived out daily.
Our heavenly Father is the ultimate example of compassion, and we are His children who are so dearly loved. The more that we are aware of and understand God’s compassion toward us, the more compassionate we will become. When we clothe ourselves with these qualities, others will see Jesus in us. Every week in our group, I hear of someone showing compassion to another by encouraging words, prayers or actions as we all serve God and one another. I am amazed at the compassion shown to me by my heavenly Father and also by the members of my group.
I pray that I will always remember the comfort and compassion I have been shown and that I will show the same to others.
Action Item: Using Jesus as your example, go out of your way to show someone an act of compassion today.
Prayer: Father, I pray that You will help me to be mindful of Your compassion and show me ways that I can show compassion to others I meet today.
Mary Chin
St. Charles,Illinois
This devotional is taken from Better Together, available at www.firstplace4health.com.