Clothed In Compassion...Oh Wondrous Thought!

A funny thing happened on the way to work. Yesterday I had made a "date" to have lunch with some of my upperclass guys, so I was on my way to church at about 11:00 a.m. to meet them. It was a rather nice, crisp, partly sunny winter day. The route I have to take to church takes me past Eastlawn Cemetery. So there I am, rollicking along in my truck, clicking it up to about 45 mph, minding my own business... that's when it went weird. I glance off to the right just as I am passing the cemetary and see a tent set up and replete with flower arrangements, a mass of people, including the American Legion unit, all participating in a graveside service. My first, unconcious, thought was to tap the brakes and slow way down. Then I realized that I sat up straighter in my seat and... get this... I actually turned my radio down!?!? What is that all about? I went another 1/4 mile or so before I realized what my reaction was and what had just transpired.

It felt weird to just go blazing by those people. For some of them, that was one of the darkest days they will ever experience. I had absolutely no idea who they were or who they had lost, but I have been around enough to know what they were going through. It just did not feel right to be passing by without paying my respect. Then I actually had that now infamous thought: "What would Jesus do?" I can't help but think that based on what we know of His actions in scripture, He most likely would have stopped. In the TIV (Tiger International Version) it would read like this: "And on the sabbath, Jesus and His disciples went down from Kingsport to fellowship with the brethren in Indian Springs. When they had come upon a certain graveyard, Jesus looked and saw a family who had gathered to mourn the loss of their father. Filled with compassion, Jesus went straightway to the gathering and prayed for them." Sounds pretty plausible to me. How about you?

Yet, how many people do we pass everyday at school, at work, at the ballgame...at (gulp) church...who are equally disheartened, disenfranchised and distant? Countless numbers. Too many times I am wrapped up in my own stuff to care about or notice what someone else may be going through. What about you? Colossians 3:12 says, "Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience." We are to be, at all times, clothed with those attributes just mentioned. What a list! Like the list of Spiritual Fruits, it is a pretty intimidating list. But those are precisely the things one needs in such situations and it is in such situations that He provides and strenthens them in our own lives.

I have had the privilege of holding one of my student's hands while her other hand held the hand of her dying mother taking her last breath. Believe me, it is in those times when you know that God is in control and it is He that empowers because there is no way that I or anyone else for that matter would have the resources needed to handle the moment.

Please understand that every day we draw breath is numbered. We have but so many to live for Him, in Him and He in us... on this side of eternity. Take every opportunity you can to notice what is going on with the people around you. You never know when you will have the Moses Moment, that moment when you become the vessel for His working in the Kingdom. Praise and glory to God that He would use us.