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The Story of Compassion
Brian Mashburn
June 18, 2006
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It's About Compassion
It's not about giving to the poor. It's about compassion for the poor. And when you have compassion in your heart, you will give to the poor.
It's not about feeding the hungry. It's about compassion for the hungry. And when you have compassion for the hungry, you will feed them.
It's not about being nice to those you don't like. It's about compassion for those you don't like. And when you have compassion for those you don't like, you will be nice to them.
It's not about inviting a stranger into your house or life. It's about having compassion for the stranger. And when you have compassion for a stranger, you will invite them into your house or life.
It's not about visiting those in a prison (of any kind!). It's about compassion for prisoners. And when you have compassion for prisoners, you will visit them.
It's not about giving clothes to those who have none. It's about compassion for those who have none. And when you have compassion for those who have none, you will clothe them.
It's not about being ever-patient with your family. It's about having compassion for your family. And when you have compassion for your family, you will be ever-patient with them.
It's not about legalistically following all the "rules of compassion" that we find in our Bibles. It's about having the compassion of Jesus that our Bibles point us to. When you have the compassion of Jesus that our Bibles point us to, you will go far beyond the legalistic rules that you find in the Bible and straight to the Bible's spirit...and you will forever be governed by it.
May we all stay in the tension of this confronting and difficult teaching that demands we be "undone" by them. May God replace us with a "re-done", more Christ-like version of us.