“Action with and for those who suffer is the concrete expression of the compassionate life and the final criterion of being a Christian. Such acts do not stand beside the moments of prayer and worship but are themselves such moments.”
- Donald P. McNeil, Douglas A. Morrison, Henri J. M. Nouwen, Compassion
“This is how we’ve come to understand and experience love: Christ sacrificed his life for us. This is why we ought to live sacrificially for our fellow believers, and not just be out for ourselves. If you see some brother or sister in need and have the means to do something about it, but instead turn a cold shoulder and do nothing, what happens to God’s love? It disappears. And you made it disappear. Let’s not just talk about love. Let’s practice real love. This is the only way we’ll know we’re living truly, living in God’s reality.”
- St. John, (1 John 3:16-19)
Great thoughts! Action really is central to the Christian faith. I wish that we could see this more often in the church.
All too many times do people turn a cold shoulder.
“It doesn’t concern me.”
“Then probably did it to themselves.”
“Yeah, well they deserve it.”
WHy? If we say we are Christians, why not live how Jesus lived and care about those people? Why not do something? If you say you have compassion for something or someone but don’t do anything about it, that’s not compassion. That’s pity. Compassion without action is dead, so lets do something, like talking to that person you see, but would rather not hang out with. Show the unloved what God’s love is. Be there for those who are alone.
That’s compassion.