This is what the Lord Almighty said: “Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another.”
Zecharaiah 7:9 NIV
Have you ever told someone who’s going through a difficult time, “I’m so sorry. I know just how you feel”? But as we say these words, do we really know how that person feels? And do they know how we feel when they say the same to us? Three months after I had my first knee replacement surgery, I made a trip to New York City to attend a women’s conference at the United Nations. My hotel was about four blocks from the United Nations building. I knew I could not walk that distance each day, so I rented a mobile chair to use. What I did not count on was the reaction most people had to someone in a wheelchair.
Each day of the conference, as I wheeled through the streets and into the U.N. building, I found myself amazed at the insensitivity of some. Many people opened the door and walked right through it, letting it close back on me. When I would try to reach for something on a shelf people would reach over me for their own wants, never asking if I needed assistance. I was appalled at how rude and uncaring the average person could be.
Then there were those few who did stop and smile and ask if I needed assistance. It was such a stark contrast between what these few people did for me and what the majority of people did or did not do. This experience, even though for only a few days, taught me so much about how difficult it must be for those who are disbled or physically challenged. Do they find, as I did, most of us “able” people to be rude and uncaring?
The week following my trip to New York, as I sat thinking about my experience, I understood that one of the reasons God allows us to go through difficult trials is to help us develop compassion. Having personally experienced pain or suffering should help us feel compassion for those who are now hurting or suffering.
The Bible tells us that we should “show mercy and compassion” to each other. One definition of compassion is to “feel for or share the suffering of others.” How can we do this? How can we truly feel the suffering of others? By asking God to give us the heart of Jesus, and to let our own personal suffering and pain give us a heart of love to help someone else. That way, no trial is in vain.
Blessed - Copyright © 2012 by the General Conference Women’s Ministries Department