The Compassionate Heart of Jesus

“For this reason, Jesus had to be made like his brothers and sisters in every way so he could be their merciful and faithful high priest in service to God. Then Jesus could die in their place to take away their sins.” – Hebrews 2:17

One action of love that we can learn from Jesus is being compassionate. For me, it can be difficult at times to feel or show compassion to others, especially when someone has hurt me even knowing my Savior showed and felt compassion a lot in the Bible. Jesus showed the true meaning of compassion. He felt deep sympathy and sorrow for others who were stricken with sicknesses and had a strong desire to care about people when they were suffering.

Jesus felt compassion for a widowed woman in Luke 7:13-17 who lost her only son. He touched the coffin and raised the boy back to life. In Matthew 9:36, Jesus felt sorry for multitudes of people who were hurting and helpless and saw them as sheep who were in need of a shepherd. We see Jesus' compassion for His friends in Luke 11:33-35 as He cried alongside them when Lazarus died.

Jesus became a human to be an example for us. He shows us how to be compassionate to others, even when it is not easy to do so. God makes it possible for us through the help of the Holy Spirit to feel empathy, to show love and pray for others when they are hurting. When we use God’s power, hearts are changed, especially towards those who we show compassion to. It can also impact our hearts to change our negative feelings we have towards them as well.

Prayer of the day:

Dear heavenly Father,

Thank you for allowing us to learn from Jesus on how to be compassionate. It is not easy to be compassionate to someone who has hurt us. We need Your help to show love and compassion to others because hearts can be changed. Showing compassion can help change our hearts as well and allow others to witness Your glory. When that happens, You are happy. In Your Son’s precious name we pray, Amen!