Being Compassionate

This is hopefully going to be a short posting.  I really have only one thought, and that is "Be kind." I think it's an appropriate message given the time of year, but that message just continues to resonate with me lately.  It's really more than being kind; it's "be compassionate".  I don't know if it's because I'm getting older, or our society is getting sicker, or it's just weird timing or luck, or whatever, but it is probably a combination of all those factors.  I personally know many people who are suffering.  Within this past year, I have known people who have lost their spouses, their great life-long friend, their co-worker, their cousin, their father, their mother, their grandmother, their brother…as well as others who have been diagnosed with various cancers or MS …and yet another whose child was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer.  Yes, each of us is suffering through our own daily mundane trials and sacrifices, and then there are those who are suffering more than others can even imagine.

When you go about your day, try to make eye contact with everyone you meet and share a smile or a kind greeting.  It might be the only bright spot in that person's day.  You just do not know what is behind anyone's smile.  We all are hiding something.  We go about our days trying to hide what ails us, but it is always bubbling within our psyche.  For some, the pain is immense.  It can be a physical pain, an emotional scar, or financial troubles.  In being kind to one another, we Christians have the opportunity to minister to others about Christ's life…simply through our actions.

We, Americans will be celebrating Thanksgiving this week.  I do hope each of us takes more than a moment to truly thank God for ALL the blessings in our lives.  I do hope that each of carries that gratefulness within our hearts into the Advent season. We must be like Christ and tend to the poor, the widowed, the weak, the sick, the elderly, the abandoned, and the lonely.  When we think of Christ tending to those people, do we see ourselves in those stories?  It is us he is tending to. Don't you see?  WE are the poor, the widowed, the weak, the sick, the elderly, the abandoned, and the lonely.  It is each of us.  Each of us has a broken heart for one reason or another.  Christ is telling us we must tend to EACH OTHER.  This Advent season, be compassionate.  Be like Christ.  He is the light of the world, so go light up your corner of the world with compassion and love for others.

“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest." ~ Matthew 11:28

Etching by Rembrandt: "Christ Healing the Sick"
"The print depicts multiple events from Matthew 19, including Christ healing the sick, debating with scholars and calling on children to come to him. The rich young man mentioned in the chapter is leaving through the gateway on the right"