Posts Tagged: covid-19

“Compassionate? Then Do Something!”

On December 1, 2020 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

“Jesus was moved with compassion . . .” (Matthew 9:36, 14:14; and elsewhere)

“Having sympathy and compassion for all who are in temptation, a condition which we are sometimes in, we have a responsibility towards them. Sympathy always includes responsibility. Pity is useless because it does not have a remedy for the need. But wherever our sympathy goes, our responsibility goes too. When we are moved with compassion, we should go to the one in need and bind up his wounds as best we can.” (From Twenty-Four Hours a Day © 1975 by Hazelden Foundation.)

My brother used to say, “I feel for you, but I can’t reach you.” But a pity, or sympathy, or compassion, or empathy that doesn’t do something, doesn’t amount to anything. Whether you make a distinction between pity, sympathy, compassion, and empathy, what really makes the difference is acting. Love not only reaches; love reaches out.

God felt for his people who were slaves in Egypt. I’m sure of that. But God didn’t stop with his feelings. He did something: He freed them from slavery. Moses was God’s hand reaching out to God’s people.

Jesus felt compassion, but he didn’t stop there. He healed, he taught, he cast out demons, he fed the hungry. Jesus reached and he reached out.

Do I feel badly about racism in our society and in my heart? Then I need to do something about it! Am I grieved by sexism, Covid-19, hunger, war? That’s nice. Now, I need to do something about it!

What can I do today to embody my compassion for others? That is the question. My answer is either action, or my answer means nothing.

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“Celebrating Life Itself Today”

On August 3, 2020 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

I just had a wonderful phone conversation with a good friend. He is one of a few people who always stimulate my best thinking.

He was wanting me to pray for him as he struggles with “a sense of direction” in his work during the covid-19 crisis. I suspect we are all struggling with similar issues right now. Even if we are not working in the nine-to-five sense, we are wrestling with some variation of the question, “How should I live my life in light of this pandemic?”

I suspect that, right now, having a clear sense of direction isn’t quite as important as it usually is. Perhaps the main thing right now is to just stay alive, and do just a little bit more than stay alive. Maybe being alive and staying alive is direction enough.

Maybe it always was. I was thinking about the throwaway question, “How are you today?” Perhaps we could make the question less routine with a life-affirming answer.

“I am alive today! And so are you! How cool is that!” Something like that.

Perhaps this terrible, deadly plague is reminding us of what we should never have forgotten—that life itself matters. Being alive is a great thing. Other people being alive is a great thing. Do we really need more than that?

Yes, I also believe in Life after death, in eternal Life through Jesus Christ. But even our mortal life is precious in God’s sight. Perhaps we should try looking at life, ourselves, one another, and all creation through God’s eyes.

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