03/02/2010

So far this week, God has been speaking with me about healing and grace. Today He had me in Luke 14, reading about healing on the Sabbath. Those who tested Jesus did not answer concerning the law. Jesus asked, “Which of you, having a donkey or an ox that has fallen into a pit, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day” (Luke 14:5b). Jesus asked them what they would do if the object needing help had value to them, and they did not answer. The man had value to Jesus, and Jesus healed him regardless of the day of the week. Another place it is written, “And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick” (Matthew 14:14).

Compassion is feeling what others are felling with a desire to remedy – to be aware of others suffering with a desire to alleviate it. Compassion is what moved Jesus to be beat for our transgressions and die for our sins – a desire to alleviate our suffering. Love suffers long and is kind (1 Corinthians 13:4a). Compassion is the part of love that suffers long; compassion is the part of love that feels what others are feeling, and does something about it. Jesus had compassion and healed. God has compassion and gives grace.

Everything we do in Christ we do in grace. God had compassion and gave us grace, and did not destroy us in our sinful state. We, the church, are the body of Christ. The whip was applied to the body to alleviate the suffering of the lost. What do we suffer so another can be healed? First we suffer what they are suffering; we have compassion. Jesus had compassion, and Jesus did what He saw the Father do; the Father had compassion and sent Jesus – Jesus healed. God has compassion and is sending the body of Christ. In our self we do not have power to heal; we have been given the grace to heal. Out of grace released by His compassion, God has turned our hearts from stone into something that can feel (have compassion). In compassion (love) is the grace and power to heal.

God places into us a renewed heart that can see value in another. So when Jesus asks us what we would do if the object with the need had value to us, we would know how to answer. When we feel compassion for a stranger who is suffering, we are feeling the heart of God. We who were once, by our own choice, strangers to God have known His compassion. What did we see God do? God came in the form of Jesus and suffered for us. The grace God gave to us came out of His compassion (love that suffers long) for us. God has sent His Holy Spirit to produce love (including compassion) within us. It may or may not be lawful for us to heal, but by grace we have been given the compassion to heal.

© 2010, Tim D. Coulter Sr.