Many years ago, I came across the delightful story of a little boy who, seeing his elderly neighbour crying in the yard [he’d recently lost his wife], went to him, climbed into his lap and sat there quietly. Later, when his Mother asked him what he’d said to the neighbour, the four-year-old replied, “Nothing, I just helped him cry.” I continue to be moved and challenged by the quality of loving compassion in this child. Kindness is such a gentle emotion and yet its effects can be extraordinary. There is a lot of kindness in our world, but there’s also a profound neediness for compassion and tenderness.
Paul commanded us to “Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness…” [Colossians 3:12]. Clothe yourself as in put it on, making a positive decision to act and react with kindness. Have you noticed how easy it is not to notice when someone needs some kindness; not to hear a cry of distress; or to be ‘too busy’ to offer a moment of compassion? Of course it’s easy! Which is why Paul instructs us to make a conscious commitment to kindness!
Yahweh’s personal compassions are new every day; they’re not yesterday’s qualities brushed up and restored, but they’re fresh and new [Lamentations 3:23]. Our Father doesn’t get exasperated, irritable, worn out, or disgusted with our frequent failures, because His store of compassion is completely new every morning! This same freshness is available to us, as we clothe ourselves each day. Scripture tells us Yahweh is “gracious and compassionate; slow to anger and abounding in love” [Nehemiah 9:17]. These are divine qualities, and it pleases Him for us to be like Him.
Compassion and kindness are also human essentials! We’re commanded to clothe ourselves with them because our brothers and sisters need to be treated this way, as does the world we contact in our daily lives. “The value of compassion cannot be over-emphasised,” writes Arthur H. Stainback. “Anyone can criticise. It takes a true believer to be compassionate. No greater burden can be borne by an individual than to know no one cares or understands.”
Did you remember to ‘get dressed’ this morning?
Photo by Adam Nemeroff on Unsplash
https://unsplash.com/photos/a-sign-that-says-be-kind-on-it-_PDPRax9dm8
The Test Of LoveWe look at our lives through a spiritual lens now, as we see how our actions as husbands and wives, fathers and mothers, friends and coaches, workers and employers relate to [Yahweh's] will.
Timothy Peck
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