Watching Kalyn…
04/06/2020
Seeing his raw wound, I saw implications.
The wound looked horrible, as it was 2 days old. He had gone to a local hospital and they had sutured him, and given him nothing for the swelling, or the open wound–including no bandage. His knot looked horrible. I went in to Kalyn and told her what had happened to Lucas, and asked her where our medical stuff was to fix Lucas up. She pulled out the necessary items from our supplies and I took them outside where Lucas was, sat him down, and explained that he had an open wound and we did not want infection.
I showed him the wipes, the ointment, the bandages, and what he must do to take care of it. After some time, I came back in, and Kalyn commented something like, “That was compassionate.” But I thought, “Lucas has stepped into my world. What was I suppose to do?” In fact, I had seen Kalyn step up innumerable times to various needs like this one.
During the past year I have been sensitized to the truth that Jesus is Lord. By that I mean–over all of our circumstances, even the minute ones–He is BIG enough to be involved in our minutia. Unpacking the Scriptures in various places, like Psalm 139, reveals over and over again that the Father is with us at every turn. Lucas showing up on my doorstep with a wound was no accident.
In my unsuspecting quiet times in the past week, I had been seeing the word “compassion” highlighted in the Scriptures. So much so, a few days ago I actually looked up the definition of Compassion.
When you follow a meaningful idea it can change your perspective on much. The meaning of “compassion” is more precise than how we use the word “love.”
“A feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering.”
Whoa. That sounded intense. The definition drew me in. Actually, it sounded like the nature of Jesus. As I chewed on what I was reading, I realized that Compassion was a heart response–not a delayed, intellectual one. Not a strategy or an idea or a mental concept. It meant to be impelled by a feeling to do something for another in trouble.
Two days ago, in the early morning, I was ambushed. Once again–by His Word. When Jesus wants to get our attention He keeps coming to highlight a truth.
In my reading: When Jesus chose Matthew, the Jewish tax-collector working for the oppressive Romans, Matthew was branded and scorned by His own people in the worst way. Jesus selected an unlikeable social outcast as one of His very own apostles (Really?) And immediately after being called out by Jesus, Matthew throws a feast for his friends, “other tax collectors and “sinners.” His cronies. Free food and drink? Here they come.
The painting is called Matthew’s Feast
The Pharisees, also, who seemed to stick out in any social gatherings, were there to scrutinize Jesus (read: judge Jesus). Yes, yawn, they were shocked again that Jesus associated with such a cast of losers. Yuck. Jesus, knowing their thoughts and the source of their Yuck, said, “Go and learn what this means”: Necessary Pause. (Jesus is giving a huge life-lesson to all those of us who think we may know more than we do–He says we need to learn). Learn? He quotes a Scripture written in the Old Testament (that Jesus crafted) that speaks volumes, “I desire COMPASSION and not sacrifice.” This particular story in Matthew 9, incidentally, about Matthew himself and his “interesting” friends, landed inside of me. I took it as: Learn Compassion so the nature of God can come through in me!
When I chewed on this story of Matthew, his friends, and the pride of the Pharisees, it is very easy to point at the Pharisees. Just too easy to judge them. “Bunch of losers. Glad I’m not like those snobs. Know-it-alls who don’t know anything.” But what if. What if I did not see it, but I was one of them? What Jesus was saying to the Pharisees He could be saying over the centuries to others in this story for our own present-day hearts to grasp? As if His Word is more needed and relevant all of the time? Continually the voices of our cultures dismiss the Word as irrelevant. What if, even now, in a topsy-turvy, intense world of widespread fear, everyone in their internal life is retreating. Scampering. Looking for security in all the wrong places. What if Jesus knew exactly what each of us needed to experience His Spirit in its fulness? What if Jesus knows the scarcity of compassion in relationships today, and specifically–in His church? How essential compassion is for us to feel His Spirit? And the means how the lost will get saved? When Jesus truth knocks on the heart, there is that twinge of conscience that feels the tap when the Word sticks in the heart. El Guapo convicted again.
Seeing the Pharisees, Jesus gave them a push in the right direction one more time: Compassion is the way out of pride. There is an opening for you: Learn compassion. Or be stuck in Pride and let Self rule. Compassion moves us away from Self. It is a heart response. Compassion rises out of a heart and moves us into action–for someone other than Self. Watch Kalyn.
Yes, case in point: Kalyn. In our lockdown mode we have signed up with a few groups to pray intentionally during the week. I am a keen observer of human nature (ok, maybe its just Kalyn). I am intrigued by “how” people act and maybe the “why” they act certain ways. Yesterday we had our prayer time on the social media called “Zoom” in a larger gathering. Then there was a point where the one large group broke into smaller groups for just a few moments.
During those short few minutes something significant happened because of Compassion. In our breakout room Kalyn and I found out that the new acquaintance in this “virtual” prayer room with us had lost his young adult son just six weeks ago. By suicide. Shocking everyone who knew him, and the family. We could tell his feelings were still bleeding. I was stunned; Kalyn was immediately moving, responding. Our few-minutes break-out session was over, but…enough time for compassion to be exercised. I watched Kalyn. As our hurting new friend shared briefly, Kalyn was using the time to connect with the troubled father on a private sidebar that was set up for the participants.
Watching Kalyn writing back and forth to the man who had experienced incredible heart-break and loss, I did what Jesus said to do: learn. Compassion moves people. She arranged for us to speak with both he and his wife, and be available on an ongoing basis. They were devastated missionaries. And Jesus brought compassion through His church, doing what He likes to do. Reaching out to the hurting with those who have His Spirit, His heart.
To be sure, compassion can be stopped. I know. Letting our minds analyze too much, we can avoid Compassion. It can be stopped by: logic; or our insecurity; or a wave of fear; a sense that we are inadequate; or the inevitable “someone else can help them;” or having other “priorities” that drive us. Compassion can get stalled out and lost in our sustained reflecting. We try to figure out the implications before we act. Try to solve the unknowns before we engage. Desire to know exactly what we are committing to. We are being careful, we think, and Compassion disappears.
If we let the tentacles of Self reach out and smother our compassionate impulses, it can be a dismal habit. Miss out on “putting on Christ Jesus” (His nature) so as to reach the hurting world. And we stay detached, kind, but disengaged, because we have not entered into another man’s world who came across our path. We keep our distance. We don’t make eye contact with Lucas and inquire. We don’t ask anymore questions when suicide is mentioned. And miss out on something intended to change our life–and theirs..
If we ignore compassion we may keep our heart locked up. Jesus is insistent about Compassion. He asks us to enter someone’s hurting world and hear their story (l-i-s-t-e-n). HOW can we help them to their feet, or speak hope into their troubled situation? Not should I? But–how do I? Often, Jesus brings the needy right into our world, front and center. To handle what we are not used to, we will definitely need Him. Thats the point. Need Him. In this global shut-down Jesus is reaching into the hearts of His people. Us. Jesus does not stop. He does not disengage. His compassion must rise in us to connect to others that He brings to us. We must take baby steps in the right direction and we shall gain strength and momentum. And wisdom. Jesus is more strategic than we can imagine.
In the powerful parable of the Good Samaritan, the religious in a hurry avoided compassion by not getting close to the wounded traveller. Keeping the safe distance. Passing quickly by, they were able to keep their focus on what needed to be done. Busy, busy, they were not interrupted by someone who had been mistreated. They did not have to be overwhelmed by something that they did not know how to handle. We only want to get involved when we know what is expected of us. When there is no need for Jesus to help us. When the Samaritan came upon the scene, the Scriptures said “he felt compassion.” Compassion led him. He allowed his heart to respond. He did not calculate the cost of time, money, interruptions, delays etc. He followed His heart and experienced the Spirit of God. In that experience of “deep sympathy and sorrow”, he had “a strong desire to alleviate the suffering.” What Jesus modeled and invited each of us in His body, His church, to do.
Compassion. After all these years, I felt that the Father was handing me a key to unlock my heart in greater measure: unlock Compassion and I will find experiences with Jesus in surprising, rich ways. That is why He awakens His church. To make a difference in a hurting world.
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Our weekly house church which is currently
” a virtual house church”
Kalyn and I are in our sixth day of 21 day lockdown. We are keeping our hearts alive with devos, fellowship, reaching out to others with words, audio notes, podcasts, prayers, sozo, counseling, encouragement. We are reading some books that challenge our hearts. We are thanking the Father for His hand in our lives NOW, His timing where we are at, His opportunities to come. That He rules and reigns on such a massive scale over the nations, and in the smallest minutia of our lives. He is that personal, omniscient, and omnipotent. He does not miss a thing. He is that engaged with us.
“Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: ‘He jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us.’” James 4:5
Yes, our lives, our plans, our expectations got interrupted intentionally. As if every one of us has been sent to his or her own room. To reflect upon how we are doing. To re-orient where we are going. To re-prioritize our lives. To rediscover His perspective. Where we are going in the bigger story of the Father. Letting go of the smaller story of the things that have distracted us from our heart’s desire. To rekindle those activities that charge our heart. Jesus is front and center in each of our future.
Giving into fear can happen when we leave the reality of Jesus out of our lives. If we do not imagine Him in our future. As if He is not there with us, Lord of our life. If we believe the Scriptures, Jesus IS our future. He has us covered:
“For we know that God. Causes. All. Things. To. Work Together. For. Good. to those who love God, and are called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28
He is rising up in this season in the church. His plan is for us to be His voice, His hands, His feet, His compassion coming through to those who are suddenly desperate. Some are for the first time hopeless.
Asking all the big questions that they had avoided for so long. All we do is step out in faith and describe how our lives are doing beneath the surface with Jesus. Our vulnerability is a ticket into someone’s heart. He will lead the conversation. Because He is here with us using compassion so that we can connect with those He is working in. Let compassion move in your heart. That is how the Holy Spirit leads. He will put the words in just the right way to make Jesus known.
