Compassion of Jesus

Jesus prayed, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!”

Our Lord had compassion for the souls of men and women, boys and girls. His compassion is evident when He looked over His beloved city of Jerusalem and wept, because of their indifference.

This verse always causes me to ask myself, How often do I weep over an individual, over a city, or over the world?

The dictionary describes compassion as a consciousness of others' distress, together with a desire to alleviate it - - a deep awareness of the suffering of another, coupled with the wish to relieve it.

We can’t say that we have compassion, if we are not moved to act. In Matthew 11, Jesus said of His own ministry, “The blind see, the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear; the dead are raised up,” (and I always add, the multitudes are fed, since that is mentioned in all four gospels) and then Jesus added, “and the poor have the gospel preached to them.”

Jesus’ compassionate ministry was twofold - - He met physical needs, and He preached the gospel. Here at Fred Jordan Mission we’re all about Bread and bread. Jesus, the Bread of Life for the soul, and physical bread for the body.

Every day I ask God to fan the flame of passion in my heart for lost souls, and to give me a renewed compassion for those who are hurting - - the hungry, the homeless, those displaced by natural disasters, those devastated by war, and abused, abandoned mothers and children. I don’t want another child to go hungry while my children and grandchildren have full tummies.

Blessings,

Willie Jordan