Love in Action

When He went ashore and saw a great throng of people, He had compassion (pity and deep sympathy) for them and cured their sick. ~ Matthew 14:14 AMP

What an awesome man Jesus was! Imagine living back in the day when He was on the earth. Imagine what it would be like to be one of His disciples. They were busy men. Their lives were all about ministry. People followed them wherever they went. They had very little time to just get away and do what they wanted to do. They were on a mission and life apart from their purpose just didn't matter.

Jesus came and gave us the perfect example of walking in love. No matter how tired He would get or what kind of busy day He had endured, He always made time for people. If they needed Him, He would be there for them.

A lot of us have great love for people. However one of the differences between us and Jesus is compassion. Jesus had compassion. The meaning of compassion in my dictionary app is "a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering."

When Jesus saw a need, He was moved with compassion. He refused to allow their situation to remain the same. He reached out to them and met the need. Compassion is love in action. Instead of just looking at someone and feeling sorry for what they are facing, compassion causes us to find a way to meet the need. What can we do to help them in this difficult time?

While prayer is so very important, sometimes we use it as the easy way out. We see a need and say, "I'll be praying for you." Sometimes we actually remember to pray but how many times have we forgotten? How many times has God placed an idea on our heart for something we could do to help this person but we just ignore His promptings and go on about our business? Or how many times have we intended to do something but get busy doing other things and then totally forget?

In Acts, people came together and helped one another. Acts 2:44-47 says, "Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved."

As the church came together as one and ministered to one another, needs were met. Everyone shared the burdens and stepped in to meet whatever needs arose. Daily they encouraged one another and enjoyed life together. Also, as they walked in love and put action to their love, people were being saved DAILY!

This is how the church should look. We should be sharing one another's burdens. We should be encouraging our brothers and sisters, loving each other, loving the lost and reaching out to them. Those who are outside and watching the church could care less about our fancy houses, nice cars, how much money we have in the bank, our title or position. They want to see us walking in love. They are looking for someone who is actually LIVING the Word. We can't afford to keep living our lives in pursuit of personal gain. It's not about us. We have been given an assignment. We have a job to do. It's time for us to get serious and let compassion move us to action. We can't keep turning our heads and pretending we don't see those who are suffering. We can make a difference!