As I was reading through the book of Colossians a month ago, I ended up camping out on 3 verses. At that time, I was praying and dreaming about sharing something on my blog space for the season of advent and then the Holy Spirit dropped these 4 terms from these 3 verses onto my heart. They have encouraged and inspired me and I hope they do the same for you as we take this short advent journey together.
Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.
Colossians 3:12 – 14 // The Bible
A definition for compassion which I found rather captivating is ” recognise suffering and take action to help.”
God is the greatest example of compassion. After the fall recorded in Genesis, us as humanity were thrown into a sad, sinful and seperated state, where suffering became a part of life. Yet in God’s never ending love and compassion, he knew how lost we were without him and took action. But not just any action. The most generous, sacrificial and life-giving action ever displayed.
John 3:16 tells us that, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son. This outlines the sacrificial generosity he was willing to display out of a compassionate heart.
The verse goes on to say, that whoever believes in him. So like anything we face in life, we often have a choice to make. We have the opportunity to choose what we’d do. Here, God extends his compassion by taking profound action and then still leaves the choice with us. Will you choose to believe in him this Christmas?
Then the verse concludes with shall not perish but have eternal life. There is always blessing to obedience. And what an overwhelming consequence to us choosing to believe – just choosing to believe – ETERNAL LIFE!
God demonstrates the greatest act of compassion by sacrificially giving his one and only son to suffer on our behalf. And this was not just for his friends or groupies either. He gave him up for all of us sinners.
2020 has been long and hard and exhausting and stretching and challenging for all of us. On top of all that, for me it’s also been amazing, interesting, special and memorable. But it’s not over yet. This example of compassion God laid down for us has challenged me to humbly desire to follow his lead and put on compassion this advent and Christmas season. Not because I have to, but because I am his chosen one, his beloved. How can I recognise suffering and take action to help? How can you? It could affect someone in more ways than you could ever know.
Have a wonderful 1st Sunday of Advent!
xxx
hope of heart 