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. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. (Colossians 3:12-15 ESV)
Put on then compassion. The Apostle Paul reminds us to choose compassion. But not only to make a choice to act compassionately, He encourages us to adorn ourselves with an attitude of compassion. This is an attribute that must be present in our character. Compassion is an expression of our faith demonstrated externally. In faith we are able to express compassion in an accurate manner as our faith is defined by our Messiah. This is something that we must always remember. Because Jesus extended to us compassion, so to must we allow compassion to direct our walk as defined by the Lord. As people of God we are to present ourselves as a living witness to the mercy, grace and transformation provided by our Savior.[1] It is then imperative that we remain tethered to the Word of God which offers correct definitions for our walk of faith. I use the word tethered intentionally. We must, this is not a choice, we must remain tethered to the Word of God as we endure the trials we face in this life. To be tethered to the Word is a fundamental condition of our being a child of our King! It is only by His Word that we can walk in the Light to find discernment.[2]Apart from His Light we walk in darkness. It is again vital that we remain tethered to the Word of God as a standard defining our faith so that we do not drift away from the Only source of true Light.[3]
As God’s chosen ones we are to put on compassion. Allow your heart to be conditioned with compassion. Not only will compassion condition how we interact with one another, compassion will equip us in humility. To be a person of compassion requires humility. Compassion is a product of humility. Out of the heart of the one who humbles themselves under the authority of Jesus, compassion will bloom. As we grow to recognize the depth of the love of our Savior, the length He went to redeem us His children, the utter frailty of our fallen human condition is clearly revealed. We come to know the absolute inability to overcome the afflictions of the sin nature. The absolute inability to save oneself aligns the heart toward humility because we can begin to rightly see the humility of our Messiah. Jesus humbled Himself to deliver us from the frailty of our fallen self. He did this while we were still enemies in bondage to the sin nature. Yet just at the right time our Savior extended His almighty love to us delivering from death to life.[4] To Him belongs all praise and glory!
Beloved, we endure a world that is rife with trial. We are afflicted by trial in many forms. Unfortunately, trial will be present until our Messiah returns or we are called to our eternal home where the trials of this life will cease to afflict the children of God. I remind the reader then to choose compassion. Allow compassion to condition your heart. Remember the compassion first demonstrated to us from Jesus. It was His compassion to save us that brought Him to walk among us. Humble yourselves under His authority. Trust in His mercy to save. Trust in His power to deliver. Trust in His peace to equip you with the strength to endure the trials of this life. Cry out to Him when in need of a voice to quiet the discontent of the human heart. It is only in Jesus where we can find hope to endure.
Lastly, recognize the limits of our human other. Adorn yourselves with compassion resulting from humility as we interact with loved ones, friends and even the stranger. Allow the love of Jesus to be an expression of your character. Know that our human other endures trials just as all of us endure. Choose then to act in compassion in effort to encourage those around you. Choose compassion defined by Jesus. Such compassion is not twisted to be in compliance with the whims of this world. Choose compassion modeled after our Savior, compassion emboldened with the truth to deliver and transform. It is this compassion that will provide answers to the trials of this life which hold eternal authority to save. It is this compassion that will equip us to interact with others in a manner that is exemplary of the One who has saved us. Make this the focus of your interactions. To demonstrate Jesus as best as we can in all circumstances. AMEN!
[1] Romans 12:1-8
[2] 1 John 1:5-7
[3] Hebrews 2:1
[4] Romans 5:6-11
Photo taken from Fosters Poetical: A Cyclopedia of Poetry (New York, NY: W.C. Palmer, Jr., & Co. 1874) pg. 500. Specific poem cited was written by Bernard Rascas
Corby Shuey 