Compassion #2....Gettin dirty

Whenever something has been laid on my heart...it stays there for a moment.

That has been the case with compassion today.  Okay, I'm sure some of it occurred because I was home sick and had much time to think in between naps. :)  Nonetheless, my mind kept drifting back to compassion and what it really means to be moved to action.  To have the desire to alleviate someone else's pain.  If that doesn't involve material possessions or monetary gifts...what does it involve?

If we pull back the layers of how we usually help/give/share what's left.

Just us.

What do you have to give that is only of you?  I don't know what it might be for you.  I am not prideful enough to begin to imagine that I have all the answers.  I am not creative enough to think I could make an exhaustive list.  But.  I have love.  I have passion.  And I have a desire to die to myself everyday and seek out ways that I might make a change in this broken world for Him.  So I guess I'll share from there....here's 3 just to get you thinking...

1.  Get out of your comfort zone.  You might hear it said that it's good to serve where you are comfortable.  Everything isn't for everyone and that's why God made us different.  That might be true for some circumstances but using that to find a "safe" place to serve, I think, is simply a crutch and self-serving.  Isn't the point of selflessness giving until there is sacrifice?  If we only ever enter the areas where we are comfortable...are we really serving a most high God who equips us to do His work?  Be honest about your discomfort.  Be honest about not knowing what to do.  What to say.  Be honest about being afraid.  Be willing to say I don't know and I don't have the answers but I just knew that I needed to stand here with you.  I had a friend tell me once as we left a meeting that she knew what was just said wasn't "right" and didn't feel good but she wasn't quite sure why.  She asked if I would explain it to her so that she could understand.  I could tell that she felt embarrassed saying it.  But I can't tell you how impactful that was.  Because she got it.  She had compassion for something that she knew nothing about.  We need to learn from each other.  And the desire to do that in an area that we know nothing about because it is not our experience is life changing.

2.  Walk the walk.  Hand in hand.  This is hard and takes time and energy.  The world needs big drives that bring recognition to causes.  Please know that I do not deny that.  But it also needs people who are going to walk through life with people.  It needs brothers and sisters who see each other hurting and give a hug.  Shed a tear.  Sit at the doctor's office.  Show up in court.  Drop over for a chat.  Text or call just to say hi.  This doesn't just mean the gals in our bible study.  This doesn't just mean our mom or sister.  This means the odd man you work with who is a loner.  This means the mom of a student in your child's class who is struggling.  The cashier you see on a weekly basis when you stop at the store.  This means the person we think least deserves it.  It's easy for us to say that we don't have time.  Our lives are most certainly filled with very important things and my goodness we have our own families after all.  Bull.  Because if we each carefully examined our selfish little lives there is space to add.  Some would have a lot of space, some not as much.  But we'd all have some nonetheless.  If we each had 5 people in our lives who needed a little TLC, friendship, a listening ear and then followed through and made it happen...what a difference it would make.  Who knows...you might even be part of someone's list of 5.

3.  Do unto others.  Man.  What if we really did that?  What if we really lived by that creed!  Above all else, first love.  Think about each person that we come into contact with and how we could truly show them love.  It's going to look different of course.  Some people, like a waitress, for example are likely only in our world for a matter of minutes.  Others, like a teacher or co-worker might be in our world for a year or more.  Still, there are others who we might never meet but yet tug on our hearts nonetheless.  Are we loving as Christ loved us?  Are we showing them His gospel in flesh?  Are we reaching out to change our world?  Am I giving each person I meet the respect that they deserve as a child of God?  Am I letting my politics or my religion get in the way of my call as a follower of Christ?  Am I seeking first the Kingdom?  Am I loving from deeper than myself?  Do the people around me know that I am different because of the way that I treat them?  

Smile.  Laugh.  Hug.  Cry.  
Comfort.  Shoulder the burden.
Stand united.
Don't look away from unpleasant things.  Don't let fear make you shrink away from difficult issues.  Don't hide.
Sing.

He is on the throne.  Hallelujah!

That's what I got today.