God’s Word not only speaks of compassion, is provides examples of such.

“And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.”     (Ephesians 4:32)

“Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”     (Galatians 6:2)

“And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.  And by chance there came down a certain priest that way:  and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.  And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.  But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was:  and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, And went to him , and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.  And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.”       (Luke 10:30-35

The people of God were far from perfect.

“How oft did they provoke Him in the wilderness and grieve Him in the desert!  Ye, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel.  They remembered not His hand, nor the day when he delivered them from the enemy.”     (Psalm 78:40-42)

“But He, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not:  yea, many a time turned He His anger away, and did not sir up all His wrath.  For He remembered that they were but flesh; a wind that passeth away, and cometh not again.”       (Psalm 78:38)

This is compassion’s nature – full of pity, mercy and forgiveness.  Without His forgiveness all would be doomed.

“God’s compassion looked beyond the deeds and beheld the fleshly nature and weakness of sinners.  He remembered they were but flesh, that they were human, that they were as weak as clay, and that they were subject to temptation and error.  He saw man as he is:  no god or angel—a fleshly creature whose spirit is willing, but whose flesh is weak.

The God of compassion took all this into consideration – their flesh, their trials, their temptations – and accordingly forgave them.  This gives us the true view of man and God.  Man can sin, but God can forgive.  Let us, therefore, not lose sight of the need of this realistic approach to living.”        ~ Leroy Brownlow

“Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, it’s at the end of your arm, as you get older, remember you have another hand:  The first is to help yourself, the second is to help others.”    ~ Sam Levenson

Eileen Light