03-07-09 True Compassion

But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. (Mt. 9:36)

Jesus did nothing to shield Himself from the profuse rejection He received from men. In His sinlessness—free from pride and arrogance—He lacked the “self-centered” means found in the proud heart that so readily protects itself. The nature of compassion—the quality most attributed to Jesus—stands in direct opposition to the nature of pride.

Only arrogance can forge walls and instigate “safe distances” from fellow human hearts. Only pride knows how to offer indifference and coldness to another. But Love knows no such response. Love bears all things and embraces every person in its path.

Every cry of every child pierces His heart. The affliction of the afflicted wounds Him deeply. Even the faintest prayers of our weak hearts do not escape Him in impact. Never could we rightly accuse Him of indifference for Love can never be such but is always concerned, always compassionate, always open and vulnerable—even at high risk and great cost. If He could be deaf to such prayers or be hardened to such cries, He would invalidate and make void His own law of love—He would compromise His very own nature.

-Dana Candler- IHOP KC