Living a Life of Compassion

Reminded by a blog that I was reading that 'with God all things are possible.' Not some things, or certain things, but ALL things. Such possibilities and hope for the day. Breathe in that fresh autumn air.

It's amazing how an extraordinary blessing that seemingly comes out of the blue can reenergize your capacity for believing that all things ARE possible with God. For years I prayed for a cure to my depression; struggling to make sense of the how and why of the condition and then when I wasn't thinking about it or trying to solve the problem an answer came that rocked my world.

So how do I make sense of God's timing? I don't. I believe that it had something to do with the current crisis that I was going through concerning my personal struggles in my marriage, but at a deeper level with the change in my moods and perception of my feelings and the world around me, I was able to deal with another friend with Jesus' compassion. This friend was in a similar situation in her marriage, but the circumstances had become dire. Had I not experienced the depths of my situation and the peaks of the emotional rebirth that the Lord brought me to, I doubt that I would have been able to minister to her with the empathy that she deserved.

In this way, I see His timing to be perfect and if I can see this much I expect that the true depth of His work is like the root of a glacier, hidden from the world not in darkness, but in our ability to understand the mysteries of God. We simply cannot know how the pieces of our lives fit together with the lives of those around us. To reject the interaction of those people based on our fleshly perceptions is to deny ourselves and them a chance to encounter God at His most empathic. We are His hands and feet. This is our work to do - to love others and how poorly and conditionally we sometimes do it.

I know that the scripture basically says that we are to cast off those believers who will not repent of their sin, but I take issue with that point of view. Jesus gave up on those who were religious legalists that keep the people in spiritual bondage. He didn't give up on Peter or Thomas or frankly even Judas, whom He knew would betray Him. He knew of the latter's heart and what he would do, but until the last moment of his life Judas could have repented and been restored to the Lord.

Shouldn't it be that way with our Christian brothers and sisters who backslide? The Bible says that God hates sin, not the sinner, but He doesn't advocate a culture of hate toward sin. If we do that how can we love the sinner? If I cast out my Christian sister who had divorced her husband, how will she become restored to our God? Simply 'remarrying the spouse' does not ensure that the relationship with the Lord has been restored. An alcoholic does not immediately become a recovered alcoholic. Growing in our relationship to the Lord is a process of growth not a process of meeting a certain checklist of requirements.

If I condemn a fellow believer for her sin, how can I stand in the illuminating light of God's presence and not be judged? Are all our sins visible? Why am I not confronted with the sin of my gluttony (I am very overweight.)? Why am I allowed to 'work out my faith' and one who has sinned openly is not allowed to do so without 'meeting certain requirements'? The scripture does say that we should confront each other with sin that we see, but it also says to 'speak the truth in love' not speak the truth and that is love. The truth is often delivered in a harsh and judgmental way that only helps to widen the separation between the offending believer and God because of guilt and shame.

I'm not advocating ignoring sin, but I am promoting using the compassion that Jesus showed sinners; letting God's love draw them back to Him. That is the love that will convict their hearts and bring them to true repentance, restoring them to their Savior. And that is the ultimate purpose, isn't it? It's not about us being right; it's about Him being King.