Compassion

Our sermon this weekend in church was on compassion. And I have been wondering ever since, Am I a compassionate person? What can i do to be more compassionate? How can I teach my kids to be more compassionate? These things I have yet to completely figure out. But I do know that we have tried to teach our kids to be loving and compassionate since they were really little, ok the girls, the boy is still a little young. We have had them buy presents for the children we pick from the angle tree, they bought and dropped off blankets for local blanket drive, we wrapped and delivered presents to a family in our church. So, I'm hoping that we are setting them on the right track. I want them to understand that compassion is not a feeling, not pity, but a lifestyle of showing the love of Christ to people who are hurting and need someone to understand and help them. I don't want it to be an obligation that gets pulled out around Christmas time and then packed away for the rest of the year, not just for them, but for the rest of us as well. Compassion is a fruit, a tangible, usable manifestation of the love of Christ for ALL of His children.

My problem is that I find it easy to have compassion on people who I don't know or just other people in general. I have a hard time showing compassion with my husband and children. Who would have thought that it would be harder to show acts of love and kindness to the people that we love the most? Well, I am going to change that, more over, I am going to ask God to help me show more compassion to my family. What good does it do me to show love to the whole world and save none for my family??

So, to friends and family, who can you, or we, show compassion to today?