Every couple of weeks, I attend a little ladies’ Bible study at my neighbor’s house. These women have been such a gift to me in their kindness, lack of judgement (even if I didn’t read all the homework!) and compassion in walking with each other. We are studying a series on Gideon, and I have been surprised at how much I see God’s compassion for the Israelites in some of the passages of the Old Testament. This people messed up over and over, running the opposite direction from where God had told them to go. And some of it seems harsh—like killing a bunch of people by the command of God—but during that time in history it was quite normal to kill or be killed. He protected them through some crazy circumstances, and kept rescuing them even when they got themselves into a bigger mess.
This really struck me because God has always been, and is still a God of compassion, and He pursues His children with endless love. We mess up a lot, doing exactly the opposite of what He knows will bring us peace and joy, but He is still there, showing up with new mercies each morning for the day.
I read Brennan Manning’s definition of a Greek word we often translate as compassion and it blew me away. He says in Lion & Lamb, "The Greek verb splangchnizomai is usually translated 'to be moved with compassion.' But its etymological meaning is more profound and powerful. The verb is derived from the noun splangchna, which means 'intestines, bowels, entrails,' that is to say, the inward parts from which the strongest emotions arise. In American argot we would call it a gut reaction. That is why English translations resort to active expressions like 'he was moved with pity' or 'his heart went out to them.' But even these verbs do not capture the deep physical flavor of the Greek word for compassion...His heart was torn, His gut wrenched, the most vulnerable part of His being laid bare."
This kind of visceral movement towards us--filled with tenderness and kindness as He pursues His children even in their stupidity and mistakes—it leaves me astounded.We don’t operate according to God’s compassion. We define our reactions to others based on their behavior toward us. If you are a jerk to me, I might be a jerk back. Or I at least will keep you at arms length because I don’t trust you. God, on the other hand, opens Himself up to pain by being vulnerable to us. We are able to pain God, not because He is penetrable in essence but because He loves and love makes Him vulnerable. And yet, even when we reject Him, deny Him and abandon Him, He keeps coming after us with incredible compassion.And this very compassion is what pours out of us to others through the Holy Spirit within. We are able to love others not because they deserve it, but because we are overflowing with love for even the most undeserving as He fills us up. We are able to respond in compassion to those who keep messing up or rejecting because we have this deep gut-wrenching care for those around us as we experience the same from our tender Father.
Are you able to accept God’s compassion for you? I firmly believe that as you do begin to get a grasp on His kindness and love for you, it will spill out to those around in a beautiful, rushing flood of compassion for each individual in their particular mess, not limited by what you think you can generate in yourself but rather produced by the Source of living water who flows within you.
By the time Jesus came ashore, a massive crowd was waiting. At the sight of them, his heart was filled with compassion, because they seemed like wandering sheep who had no shepherd. So he taught them many things. Mark 6:34