Good morning…
Nibbling on nuts and sipping a glass of wine, I enjoyed the new-book-signing for a man I admire. If God had a human voice, it would be Ron Greer’s. Strong. Steady. Soothing. If anyone lives like Christ most moments of most days, it is Ron Greer. Real. Reliable. Relentlessly relational. If anyone needs a referral for pastoral counseling, I personally recommend Ron Greer. Tender. Trustworthy. Tried and true. During quiet time this morning, I read from my freshly autographed book, The Path of Compassion: Living with Heart, Soul, and Mind.
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Compassion is at the heart of the lives to which each of us is called. Yet compassion is not just at the heart; it is the heart. It springs from a heart moved by the awareness of another’s pain. Something within calls us to action. We can do nothing else. We see a need. We have to respond. We have been moved, at times overwhelmed, by compassion. We know that in this moment we are called to something beyond ourselves.
Compassion leads with and comes from the heart. We are touched with empathy by the face of human need. Compassion is the desire to be with those who struggle, to be emotionally in the effort with them, and to facilitate their way out of the pain. There is a spiritual dimension to each level of compassion. Our hearts are intuitively touched with empathy and moved to action from the imago Dei, the image of God – or the “Christ in you,” as Paul phrased it – with which we are each created. We are complex creatures with mixed agendas – some not so attractive – but at our center there is a God-given goodness that sincerely cares and wants to help.
It is grace that inspires and fuels our compassion in times of quiet reflection and prayer; in times of insight, glimpsing the true self God created in us; in times of inspiration, feeling called to a purpose greater than ourselves; in times of being lost, being forgiven, and being welcomed home. In each of these times, we have known God’s grace. Our response to grace is to live more graciously. (3-4)
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“We love because God first loved us,” Ron summed up in our casual conversation the crux of compassion. As we spend this Lenten season asking, “God, What Am I Made For?” we receive one clear answer: first fueled with God’s gracious love, we are made to overflow with God’s grace and God’s love.
Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God (1 John 4:7, NLT).
…Sue…
