31 Attributes of God, Day 2: He Is Compassionate
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Welcome to Day 2 of our 31 Attributes of God series! If you missed any of our previous posts, you can find them right here. Be sure to grab the accompanying free printable here (no email address required!) and join us for today's study!
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If there's something that doesn't come naturally to me, it's compassion. Does that surprise you? While I love being a cheerleader and encourager, when I see someone sick or injured, my first (very STRONG) inclination is to run as far in the opposite direction as possible.
Maybe it's my aversion to blood. Maybe it's my phobia of all things vomit-related. I don't know what triggers it, but you know I'm not the compassionate one in our family when a sick child comes to our bedroom door at night and asks for Daddy, not Mommy! (I know, I know, that's very pathetic, but it's also very true.)
When I consider God's compassion, it's absolutely beautiful and mind-boggling. I once went through the four Gospels and underlined every instance of Christ having compassion on people. Over and over again, we see Jesus touching the sick and injured, something I can't stand doing.
The online dictionary explains compassion as "sympathetic pity and concern for the sufferings or misfortunes of others." When I see someone who is hurt or unwell, I do have pity and concern...for myself. I worry I'll catch whatever virus it is they have. I get squeamish if I realize I'm the only one around to help dress a wound. Only after I've had a moment to realize my extreme selfishness does it dawn on me to feel empathy for the sick or injured person himself!
But our Heavenly Father IS compassion. It's part of His nature; it's one of the attributes that make Him who He is! He had so much compassion on our weak and sinful condition that He willingly sacrificed His only Son on our behalf so that we could be with Him forever in Heaven.
We didn't deserve that. We all deserve Hell forever. The Bible clearly teaches us that none is good, not even one. But because of God's compassion, because of His sympathetic pity on our lost condition, we now have a way to be with Him and to enjoy Him forever.
Psalm 86:15 reads, "But You, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering and abundant in in mercy and truth" (NKJV, emphais added).
What a beautiful truth to lean into today - we serve a compassionate God who took pity on our helplessness. Let's let this understanding of our Great God strengthen us to have compassion on others!
Today's Assignment: In addition to filling out the free assignment sheet for today's attribute study, hop on over to YouTube and listen to Keith and Kristyn Getty's "Compassion Hymn." Then, thank the Lord for His compassion that He has lavished on us.
