Compassion
com-pas-sion(noun): sympathetic consciousness of others' distress together with a desire to alleviate it (Merriam Webster)
Compassion rises up in me when I see a person that is malnourished and/or starving, or when I see a person dying of terminal cancer, headed into bondage by darkness, and suffering from fear and condemnation – a worry-diseased body.
This is the reason Jude urges us to release our delivering flow of compassion when he says, “And of some have compassion.” You see, when genuine compassion begins to flow from your heart, you cannot sit idly by and be satisfied that you have felt sorrow for a person's situation. Real compassion says, “I have to do something about this.” Jesus showed this kind of compassion, and He set the whole world free to receive forgiveness and receive eternal life.
In the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37), Jesus tells us about the story of a man who was abused by thieves. They took all of his belongings (including the clothes he was wearing), beat him nearly to death, and left him to die. A priest and a Levite came, and upon seeing the man, walked on the other side of the road. A Samaritan walked down the same road and felt compassion for the disadvantaged man, and then decided that he couldn't just feel sorry for the man, but that he had to do something about it. He bandaged the man and took him to an inn, paying for the innkeeper to help the man recover. Jesus then tells us to be like the Samaritan – compassionate.
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