- By Rev. Chandran J. Lite
- Posted 12/10/2017
"Defend the weak..." (vs. 2-4)
In the church history there was a great saint, St. Laurence, who was known for the incredible compassion for the poor and the downtrodden of the society. He was a deacon in the early church in the third century. He lived in Aragon(Spain). During one of persecutions, he was ordered to bring to a roman official some of "the Treasures of the Church" . What he brought were some poor, downtrodden and lame people, and he said to them, "These are the treasures of the Church". For this response, he was roasted to death on a gird iron.
There are over 2000 verses in Scripture that call for God's people to meet the needs of the poor.
There are at least 21 verses in the New Testament that talk about the compassion of Christ.
The Psalmist in verses 2-4 of Psalm 82, talks about how God expects us to live a life of compassion for the less fortunate people of the society. Jesus' whole life demonstrated compassion. Jesus' compassion was not only a passive feeling, but it was a practical emotion, shown in action. James in his epistle, gives a precise definition of true religion. It is : "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is to look after the orphans and widows in their distress...." (James 1:27)
Do you express compassion for the less fortunate in your family, society, church, work place?
Our Christian compassion must transcend all caste, color, and creed barriers. That was our Lord's compassion.
The late Colonel Sanders(of Kentucky Fried Chicken) was on an airplane, when an infant screamed and would not stop even though the mother and the flight attendants tried every trick they could think of. Finally the Colonel asked if he could hold the baby. He gently tucked it to sleep. Later a passenger said, "We all appreciate what you did for us".
Colonel Sanders replied, "I did not do it for us, I did it for the baby".
Christ's expression for compassion is not to make Him "feel good" but for the good of others. So must be our compassion as well.
God bless you
Yours in His Service,
Servant Chandran Lite