The book of Matthew is a great book. Of course, I love the New Testament because it always seems to me to be the best part of the Bible and the most relatable to the events occurring in the modern day. That is, of course, my opinion. The Old Testament has wonderful stories and strong foundational truths as well so don't misunderstand me here, as I love the Bible in it's entirety!
So we have lots of things that happen with Christ where He is healing the sick, the broken and the bruised and leading people to a saving knowledge of Himself. The Pharisees are following Him and His disciples all around and watching their every move just ready to jump on them for the littlest thing! They would have to have been otherwise how would they have known that the disciples had eaten some grain from the grain field on the Sabbath?! You know anyone like that? Jesus gives the disciples the ability to heal and drive out demons in His name and gives them the Holy Spirit to stay with them after He leaves the earth to return to His heavenly home and is continuously teaching them about compassion and love. How awesome.
A repetitious act of compassion. The spirit of a servant and yet the strength of a leader.
His example is that of kindness, empathy and compassion. Is He accepting of the sinful situations He sees leaving them without instruction or reprimand? No. He is constructive. He admonishes with loving words and reaches out to them where they are with compassion.
Am I compassionate? I mentally answered this with a "yes, but..." when first asked the question and then immediately realized my mistake. Does Christ categorize His compassion or does He show compassion for those around Him without reserve? It is no doubt without reserve. Some of us have a higher level of sensitivity to our "compassion" button and some of us can be reduced to tears with a simple photograph. As children of God we should all have some level of compassion in us and if we have squelched the emotion felt with that compassion for fear of being judged for our sensitivity, look again at Christs life starting in Matthew 9. If the Holy Spirit dwells in you, as a child of God, then you should have compassion because it was part of who Christ was and is and always will be. So next time you feel that twinge in your soul, think about what gifts you have that you could use to act on your compassion. Are you an organizer, or a baker, or an artist, or a builder, or a nurse? Whatever gifts you have whether a teacher, a servant, a leader, etc., how can you help those you are compassionate about? Make it a matter of prayer.
