compassion is only 1/2 way there ..

an online dictionary defines compassion as  —n: a feeling of distress and pity for the suffering or misfortune of another, often including the desire to alleviate it

sounds about right

thing is

compassion, as defined, refers to the feelings associated with the suffering person one feels copmassion for
it does nothing to alleviate that suffering
the word derives from the latin, and means ' to suffer with '
there is goodness in the word so defined
apostle Paul, at Romans 12.15, says ' rejoice with those that rejoice, weep with those that weep '
   ( that entire pericope is worthy of posting on the fridge door )

that's the thing ..
the suffering with
as in feeling it

i'm all in to that
Jesus himself was said to be filled with compassion
as in Matthew 9.36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
Matt 14. 14 As He stepped ashore, He saw a huge crowd, felt compassion for them, and healed their sick.
Matt 15.32 “I have compassion on the crowd, because they’ve already stayed with Me three days and have nothing to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry; otherwise they might collapse on the way.”
 Matt 20.34 Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes. Immediately they could see, ..
good precedent for us as his followers ..

thing is ... thing is
while compassion may swell from a good and caring heart, there's more to the story
it's followed-up by some form of action
it'a rather like that old saying ' the road to hell is paved with good intentions '
not that i necessarily agree, but i'm pointing out that intentionality, while a noble mindset, only takes one so far
there's an implicit need for action
follow-up

compassion is like that
we sit and see starving children, or watch them killed in the horror of war, or ..
and our spirit cringes
we feel that
and, hopefully, we want to do something to alleviate their hurt, snatch them out of their terrible condition ..
then the ad is gone, and we go back to the movie ..

see Jesus ? in each case there was a follow-through on the compassion
even at 9.36, while he didn't ' do ' in the sense of physical, he did ' do ' in that he prayed and counseled his disciples to be praying
   that's doing, by the way
   praying is doing

compassion + doing something = the Christlike Way

even if it's just a little
do something !

i used to wonder at this lady that would put a 5 or a 10 in somebody's hand ( not publicly, i just watched closely ) .. wondering how on earth could $5 help ? it's $5 ..
that lady wasn't well-off; she was struggling ..
but she did something
and Jesus was watching her, and blessing her ' something '
.. maybe multiplying it like what he did with the 5 loaves and the 2 fish
smiling allthewhile

kinda like that woman in the temple that offered a coin while the pharisee gave a large amount
and Jesus, seeing her heart, blessed her, for although it was barely a coin, she gave it out of her poverty ..

intentionality, like compassion, is worth much
but apart from follow-through, ' doing ', it falls short
and that, my friend, is also one of the definitions of  ' sin ' ..
   as in ' to fall short '

how many many many times have i .. ?