God’s Compassion Knows No Borders

How do you define compassion? Pity, feelings of sympathy or empathy, maybe sorrow?
Over the last couple months, I’ve been involved in a group bible study called Get Uncomfortable by Todd Phillips, focused on the church’s mission in the world and God’s true character. God is justice. God is morality. God is compassion.

In Get Uncomfortable, Phillips stresses the true biblical meaning of compassion as not just taking pity on someone or feeling sympathetic but actually suffering and feeling someone’s pain. Yes, simply ‘feeling bad’ is a component of compassion. You might pass by a homeless man and feel bad and wish you could do something. Wish you could buy him a burger; give him a shirt out of your closet or five bucks. But simply wishing and feeling badly is not compassion, it’s empathy. To be truly compassionate, we, as Christians, must suffer alongside someone in pain and then act on that person’s behalf. We must give according to the needs of people to the point of our own sacrifice.

Jesus told a story to illustrate the nature of compassion in Luke 10:30-37. We know that the man who was robbed was coming from Jerusalem, and as explained by Phillips, we can fairly assume he was Jewish. The first two Jewish religious leaders, the priest and the Levite, simply pass him by. The person who does stop to help him was a Samaritan, which Phillips explains as significant considering that Jews and Samaritans were enemies. Not only does he stop but also bandages his wounds, takes him to an inn, and spends his own money to help the man. He didn’t worry about being late to work or catching up on his emails or how much helping the man would cost him. He responded to the man immediately and sacrificed his entire day. How many of us would put aside our entire day to help someone in need?

“If a brother or sister is without clothes and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well.’ but you don’t give them what the body needs, what good is it?” (James 2:15-16).
                  
In September, I will serve as a missionary through an organization, Adventures in Missions, in their World Race program. The World Race is an 11-month Christian mission trip to 11 countries throughout the world. On the World Race, I’ll serve with a team of around 50 people, ages 21 to 35, in partnership with churches and ministries in local communities to plant churches, work in orphanages, and minister to women and children who are trapped in prostitution and human trafficking, serving the injustices of this world, through compassion.

I will travel to Zimbabwe/Botswana, South Africa, Swaziland, India, Philippines, China, Ukraine, Moldova, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica/Panama.
 
My team and me would most importantly appreciate your prayer. Please pray:
1) For my team’s spiritual, mental, and physical preparation as the September launch date nears
2) To serve as an ambassador of Jesus – speaking and acting on His behalf
3) To shows Jesus’ love through compassion and understanding and the personal struggles and pain I’ll discover through understanding other’s pain
4) To survive the year on one shower a week, living in a tent, without any snake sightings!