daily devotioN_17th JULY~
17th july 08
40 day fasting-where compassion leads
According to the Hebrew religious law, any woman with a discharge of blood is considered unclean, and any Jew in contact with her will be contaminated. But this woman in her desperation, reached out to touch Jesus despite the fact this was uncalled for in the past. However, Jesus saw her faith and he healed her illness immediately.
Jesus took no thought for his own ceremonial purity, and he always put the poor, sick and the destitute in his top priority list. He always saw the lost through his eyes of compassion, and loved them more than he loved himself. He never saw them as threats to his own holiness, and has given up his reputation and status to help them. He did not see them as threats to his own holiness, but as sons and daughters of God, bearing the divine image.
It was a radical response, one that was totally unheard of from the son of God.
Henry Nouwen (the way of the heart): “let us not underestimate how hard it is to be compassionate. Compassion is hard because it requires the inner disposition to go with others to the place where they are weak, vulnerable, lonely and broken. But this is not out spontaneous response to suffering. What we desire most is to do away with suffering by fleeing from it or finding a quick cure for it.” We always find it difficult to develop a compassionate heart for the lost, and often we do not understand why we are unable to do so. That ‘s because it is not human nature to be able to deal with pain and suffering. We do not like to see it happening, nor do we want to experience it.
And often, the truth is, compassion will always cost you something. Compassion may first grow as you observe the plight of others from a distance, such as watching the news regarding the Aceh tsunami or even the recent Sichuan earthquake disaster. As we watch these heart-breaking disasters happening around the world, we feel sorry for these victims, and sympathize with them. We may think this is compassion, but it isn’t so. The fruit of compassion, when fully formed, will always lead you out of your comfort zone, into places of suffering and brokenness. Your personal security will may be undermined, your comfort may be sacrificed. Even as you are called out by the lord to serve the poor/lost, you will not hesitate, and go with a compassionate heart to serve and be a blessing to others. You will find out that your heart may grow bigger, and you will look more and more like Christ, out servant-king.
Through these years, there are many who have been my inspiration and role models when it comes to serving the lost/ poor. One of them is my uncle who has been to Africa these past few years as a missionary. During his ministry years in Africa in Nigeria, he has brought his whole family, and it was initially a difficult decision for him as he had to give up his high-paying job and to sacrifice the comfort of his family. Moreover, his children’s education was at stake, and at that point in time, my cousins were very young, thus, it was a tough decision my uncle had to make, as he had to move out of his comfort zone to go into a foreign land that was totally unfamiliar and new to him to help the poor, and to bring the gospel to them. He was a dentist(specialist in some diseases.), and thus rendered his services to them, and I personally was very inspired and touched by their family’s efforts in serving the lord, as well their courage in serving a place so far away from Singapore for 5 years.
40 day fasting-where compassion leads
According to the Hebrew religious law, any woman with a discharge of blood is considered unclean, and any Jew in contact with her will be contaminated. But this woman in her desperation, reached out to touch Jesus despite the fact this was uncalled for in the past. However, Jesus saw her faith and he healed her illness immediately.
Jesus took no thought for his own ceremonial purity, and he always put the poor, sick and the destitute in his top priority list. He always saw the lost through his eyes of compassion, and loved them more than he loved himself. He never saw them as threats to his own holiness, and has given up his reputation and status to help them. He did not see them as threats to his own holiness, but as sons and daughters of God, bearing the divine image.
It was a radical response, one that was totally unheard of from the son of God.
Henry Nouwen (the way of the heart): “let us not underestimate how hard it is to be compassionate. Compassion is hard because it requires the inner disposition to go with others to the place where they are weak, vulnerable, lonely and broken. But this is not out spontaneous response to suffering. What we desire most is to do away with suffering by fleeing from it or finding a quick cure for it.” We always find it difficult to develop a compassionate heart for the lost, and often we do not understand why we are unable to do so. That ‘s because it is not human nature to be able to deal with pain and suffering. We do not like to see it happening, nor do we want to experience it.
And often, the truth is, compassion will always cost you something. Compassion may first grow as you observe the plight of others from a distance, such as watching the news regarding the Aceh tsunami or even the recent Sichuan earthquake disaster. As we watch these heart-breaking disasters happening around the world, we feel sorry for these victims, and sympathize with them. We may think this is compassion, but it isn’t so. The fruit of compassion, when fully formed, will always lead you out of your comfort zone, into places of suffering and brokenness. Your personal security will may be undermined, your comfort may be sacrificed. Even as you are called out by the lord to serve the poor/lost, you will not hesitate, and go with a compassionate heart to serve and be a blessing to others. You will find out that your heart may grow bigger, and you will look more and more like Christ, out servant-king.
Through these years, there are many who have been my inspiration and role models when it comes to serving the lost/ poor. One of them is my uncle who has been to Africa these past few years as a missionary. During his ministry years in Africa in Nigeria, he has brought his whole family, and it was initially a difficult decision for him as he had to give up his high-paying job and to sacrifice the comfort of his family. Moreover, his children’s education was at stake, and at that point in time, my cousins were very young, thus, it was a tough decision my uncle had to make, as he had to move out of his comfort zone to go into a foreign land that was totally unfamiliar and new to him to help the poor, and to bring the gospel to them. He was a dentist(specialist in some diseases.), and thus rendered his services to them, and I personally was very inspired and touched by their family’s efforts in serving the lord, as well their courage in serving a place so far away from Singapore for 5 years.
posted by poke-the-curry @ 7:46 AM
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