Small Acts, Great Compassion
by Debbie Poer
It was early on a Sunday morning. While at church, we received a phone call from our exchange student son. An ambulance had been called. Our biological daughter was being rushed to the hospital. After several days of compassionate medical care, we learned that her lungs were beyond repair. Her time with us was short.
One morning during those days, before going to the hospital, I threw a load of laundry into the washing machine and turned it. My plan was to put the clothes into the dryer when I returned home later that day. But once at the hospital, it became apparent we could not and did not want to leave her side. Friends and family gathered around us to encourage us, feed us, and pray with us. One friend offered to go to our house to feed and walk our dog. We returned home to discover not only had she fed and walked the dog, but she had finished that load of laundry. I have always considered that small act of kindness to be a great act of compassion and concern.
This month as we look at living like Jesus through the lens of compassion and concern, my laundry story reminds me repeatedly it is not always the miracles that Jesus performed that speak of his compassion and concern and serve as examples for how I should live. It is also the small things, the way he spoke to people or began conversations with them.
When he said “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God” (Luke 18:16), he was making a statement to the adults around him – children had as much value as the disciples who were trying to keep them away.
As Jesus was sitting at a Samaritan well and a woman approached, he could have easily turned away from her. After all, she was an unaccompanied Samaritan woman. Instead, he chose to connect with her, opening with a simple request “Give me a drink” (John 4:7).
I can almost hear Jesus’ gentle, caring tone as he said, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things” (Luke 10:41). Out of his concern and his compassion, I imagine him speaking in a way that told Martha how much he cared for her and how much he wanted her to actually hear what he had to say.
How do these actions of Jesus fit into my life and my desire to live like him? They speak to the small ways I should live and act.
Whether it is a child in my neighborhood or at church, or a senior citizen living in the community where my mom lives, I need to welcome them into my time. Listening to a child’s adventure or a senior’s retelling of a life story opens the opportunities for future conversations and hopefully the chance to share about Jesus.
For the person discounted by society, I may be the first person to acknowledge his or her existence on the day we interact. I have a friend who is gifted in the way she speaks with men and women begging on street corners. I often wonder what positive impact she has on their day. Like the woman at the well, they must feel “seen.”
When I read Jesus’ words, “Martha, Marth…,” I am reminded to watch my tone of voice when I speak to someone. I’m reminded of the old saying that you catch more bees with honey than with vinegar. I know I listen better when someone speaks with compassion and respect rather than with a sharp, condescending tone. I should show the same when speaking to others.
As we journey through November considering compassion and concern to live like Jesus, I would challenge us to see compassion as an action word with no boundaries. Welcome others, see others, listen to others in new ways, not necessarily with grand gestures, but at the very least in quiet everyday moments that speak volumes.
