The tension was palatable. The room was filled with struggle, and my beautiful wife was so elegant and strong. We had the music softly playing in the background, and in this dim-lit room we were engaged in an historical moment, at least in our lives. All of a sudden amidst the commotion and what became rhythmic cantations, the sound of our baby’s first gasps for air entered into the fray. It’s a sound that will never leave my ears. But that’s not all, my eyes were frozen in bewilderment at her beauty.
After 9 long months of pregnancy my amazing wife carried so well, our little child had now been born. The emotions were too much to bear. I was happy. I was scared. I was anxious, and I was concerned. It was a time of beginnings, and it was a time of gravity. In a single moment—in an instant—were were holding our child and the weight of that reality was bearing down–heavy. Yes, this little life was ours. And then, all of a sudden, the tension was tasted…
“How is my wife? How is my daughter? It’s a girl!!! I can’t believe it.” Feelings of joy. Life was flashing before my eyes. “How will I provide? Who will she marry? Will I be a good dad? Is she going to have siblings? How is my wife doing? My little daughter is still crying…is she ok?” And on, and on.
Time was standing still. I was caught in the moment. The minutes felt like hours, and we were soaking in every sensation…and then all of a sudden she was taken from us, and was put in a plastic bin sitting on top of an industrial looking and austere metal cart. What is happening? Why is she leaving?
We were helpless. She was being moved to a different room, and I watched feeling something so powerful, so intense, and so tangible that I had never felt in this way before. Simply put, I had overwhelming sense of protection that was being wrought out of compassion for my little sweet daughter. There she was so helpless. She wanted to be back in her safe and warm environment. But now she was feeling the cold air of earth, and the scratch of a cotton garment on her soft and lucid skin. For 9 months her comfort level was monitored wonderfully in the womb, and now everything had changed. She wanted her mommy. She wanted the strong arms of her daddy. But we had to wait.
There was my little daughter, vulnerable, exposed, helpless, and crying out for our help. Unable to act for herself, because of her limitations as a newborn baby. And so, she cried completely dependent on the love of her parents. She didn’t know how to speak, just cry. She wanted us. And she cried. Little tears were falling down her beautiful and innocent cheeks. Her little lungs were so strong. And I just had to watch, but no doubt with meticulous examination of each movement from the nurse pushing her to the other room. “She’s going too fast”, I thought. “Slow down. Careful, there’s another table to your right. Watch out for the door frame. Slow down.” The thoughts continued. She cried, and we waited.
Have you ever felt compassion?
Even if you have never had a child, you can still imagine the feelings I just described above. We were just a mommy and daddy who had to wait for their little child to return to their loving arms. Nothing was medically wrong with her, in fact she was healthy as all get out, but nevertheless, our parental compassion was on full force. Why? Because our baby girl was helpless, exposed, vulnerable, and in need, and we knew we had the power to aid her. We were moved by compassion to act, to come to her aid, and to help her in that moment after birth and even still today.
There is something within each one of us that has at some level experienced this emotion–to help someone who is helpless, in need, exposed, or vulnerable. But I feel that compassion can quickly become just a word that we use, but don’t usually understand and therefore have a hard time applying practically in the different areas of our lives. We may understand the compassion a parent feels for a child or loved one(s), but what about having compassion for a stranger, an immigrant, those vulnerable, exposed, and helpless? How do we live with compassion for others outside our family? And…how does that compassion move us to action? Well…
What does the Bible say about compassion?
The word compassion springs from the word womb. It carries the feeling or emotion that a parent feels for their child. It’s a powerful, inexorable, and insatiable emotion. To put it in a practical sense, compassion means…
“…to have a deep awareness of and sympathy for another’s suffering.”¹
…also…
“…to give to those who are unable to give in return…”
Biblically speaking, compassion is a character trait rooted in the very heart of God. In fact, over 53x the word is used in the Old Testament to describe God’s compassion for His people. He feels this emotion, and He lets His people know that they are the recipients of His unflinching focus and compassion.
Consider God’s proclamation to Moses after Israel had just been rescued from subjugation to slavery by the Egyptians, and they had now failed Him by breaking His Laws by crafting and worshipping their handmade golden calf…
“Then the Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth…”
Exodus 34:6
Consider also Nehemiah’s proclamation regarding God’s compassion for His people even after they were exiled in judgment from the land of Israel by the Assyrians and Babylonians…
“However, You bore with them for many years, and admonished them by Your Spirit through Your prophets, yet they would not give ear. Therefore You gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands. “Nevertheless, in Your great compassion You did not make an end of them or forsake them, For You are a gracious and compassionate God.”
Nehemiah 9:30-31
In both of the cases listed above Israel–God’s chosen people to represent Him to the nations–were helpless, vulnerable, exposed, and in need. Yet, despite all this, they had a God who felt compassion for them and acted as a result.
And so, compassion is forged out the very heart of God with an emotional connotation rooted in sense of what a parent feels for their child.
How Does This Apply to Us Today?
Consider this thought and question…if compassion is from God, and God superabundantly bestows compassion to His children (who are unable to provide anything in exchange or return), how are you–as His child and recipients of His compassion through faith in the finished work of Christ–viewing others with compassion who are in need and unable to offer anything in return?
In the next installment, we’ll dig deeper into the concept of compassion as seen in God from the Old Testament, and how it again relates to us today.