A Compassionate Heart

(Big Lessons from a Little Maid--2 Kings 5)

If someone took you away from your family and set you to work as a servant, how would you feel towards that person? When you heard that they were sick and not going to recover, would you be happy? Would you think “It's serves them right! They deserve it.”

The little maid have every reason to think like that. But instead she had compassion on her Master.

How do you feel towards people who have hurt you?

I've been a bit convicted doing this study! I am definitely lacking in this area.

Compassion means sympathy or sorrow for others suffering.

It's not so hard to feel compassion for people that we love and are close to us. But it's not always so easy to feel compassion for someone who we think deserves what they are getting!

Or even for someone we do love very much that has hurt us. We get hardened and just don't care. But that's not what we should do

But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; Matthew 5:44

How can we have compassion on someone who has hurt us or on someone that we really don't like?

By remembering that God has compassion on us! We have hurt God far more than anyone will ever hurt us. There is absolutely no reason why God should have compassion on us.

The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy. Psalm 145:8

If you want to be like Jesus, you must be compassionate!

But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. Matthew 9:36