Jump Start # 3543

Colossians 3:12 “So, as those who had been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, gentleness and patience.”

Our verse today displays the “Big Four” of the character of a child of God. Compassion. Kindness. Gentleness. Patience. These four are linked together and one leads to the other. They begin with compassion. That’s within us. That’s how we see and feel about others. We sing the hymn, “Does Jesus care?” That’s about compassion. But from compassion on the inside, comes kindness on the outside. One is kind because one is compassionate. Without the compassion on the inside, there won’t be any kindness on the outside. Then follows gentleness. Kindness and gentleness go together like peanut butter and jelly. It’s hard to have one without the other. Kindness and gentleness are how we treat others. Then, bringing up the end is patience. When our patience runs thin, we tend to snap at others. Suddenly, gentleness and kindness have gone. Patience is a necessary ingredient to keep our spirits where they ought to be.

These times certainly need these “Big Four.” Politicians angrily shout and scream at each other. People are losing it in restaurants and fast food places. Patience isn’t something you find very often along America’s highways.

Leading the way with these “Big Four,” is compassion. One can’t really teach gentleness until a person first gets compassion. Without compassion, kindness will never happen. And, as that hymn, “Does Jesus care,” is sung, more appropriately one needs to ask, “Do I care?” Until I care, I won’t pray. Until I care, I won’t serve. Until I care, I won’t be patient, gentle or kind.

Jesus illustrated compassion. His heart was moved by plight of others. He helped the hurting. He brought life to the broken. He went to Samaria. He went to the home of a tax collector. But one of the ways Jesus showed compassion, and such a simple thing, was by touch. Jesus touched others.

• Mt 8:3 “And He stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, ‘I am will; be cleansed.’ And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.”
• Mt 8:15 “And He touched her hand, and the fever left her; and she arose, and waited on Him.”
• Mt 9:25 “But when the crowd had been put out, He entered and took her by the hand; and the girl arose.”
• Mt 9:29 “Then He touched their eyes, saying, ‘Be it done to you according to your faith.’”
• Mt 14:31 “And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, ‘O you of little faith, why did you doubt?’”
• Mt 17:7 “And Jesus came to them and touched them and said, ‘Arise, and do not be afraid.’”
• Mt 19:13 “Then some children were brought to Him so that He might lay His hands on them and pray; and the disciples rebuked them.”
• Luke 7:14 “And He came up and touched the coffin; and the bearers came to a halt. And He said, ‘Young man, I say to you, arise!’”
• Revelation 1:17 “When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, ‘Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last.”

The touch of Jesus. Why did He do that? He could have healed from a distance? Why touch?

First, a touch is going out of your way. It shows warmth, compassion and love. This is why hugs and handshakes mean so much. A look in the eyes and a great hug speaks without words. It says, “I’m here.” It says, “I care.” It says, “I love you.” Jesus touched.

We must realize that within our fellowship, there are many that wonder if anyone cares. There are those who believe that they could drop out of sight and no one would ever miss them. They feel alone in a church building filled with people. What they need is compassion. They need to know, even though they are struggling and still working on so many things, they are loved. The key is compassion.

In the prodigal story, Luke records, “…his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.” The father ran because he first felt compassion. The father demonstrated that compassion with an embrace and a kiss. We don’t find the father asking thirty questions about where you have been. We don’t find the father giving a lecture. In fact, as the text flows, the father never says a word to the prodigal. He speaks to the servants. He speaks to the older son. But to the prodigal, no words. Just a hug and a kiss. That’s all that was necessary.

Fellowship isn’t a cold, indifferent membership like to some club. It’s hugs. It’s kisses. It’s compassion. It’s gentleness. It’s kindness.

Second, to touch, as Jesus did, means one has to be in the same location and next to a person. A text is nice. A phone call helps. But nothing beats your presence. This is why stopping by the funeral home is a must. This is why dropping by a house with some warm soup and cookies is so important. It speaks volumes. Hallmark Cards once had a slogan, “When you care enough to send the best.” The best isn’t a Hallmark card. The best is yourself. Jesus came. Jesus touched.

Praying for others is essential. But how many know that you ever prayed for them?

Third, Jesus showed compassion by doing things for others. It is easy to hide behind the offer, “If you need anything let me know,” realizing that most will never let you know. Few will ask for help. Pride. Not wanting to bother others. Being private. Many reasons, but the need remains. You and I can’t heal as Jesus did. But we can go to the grocery store. We can mow the yard. We can drive someone to the doctor’s office. “Let me know if I can help you.” They won’t. You must offer. You must say, “Let me drive you to the doctor’s office.” “I’m coming over tomorrow to get the sticks out of your yard.”

Jesus came. Jesus touched. Jesus made a difference. It all begins with compassion.

Roger

Jump Start # 1211

Colossians 3:12 “So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience”

  Last evening I got to preach at a wonderful congregation in my area. The guest preacher that they had for the week got ill and so I was called to pinch hit. Glad to do it. Great people. I preached from our text today. I especially like the expression, “Put on a heart of compassion”. That simply means care. Care about others. Multiple times in the Gospels Jesus “felt compassion.” He cared. He never seemed bothered. He never said, “Leave me alone.” When interrupted, He answered a question, or went with a person to help a sick or dying family member. People flocked to Him because not only could He do something but He cared.

One of the complaints many patients have regarding their doctors is that some seem to lack bedside manners. That’s a polite way of saying, they lack heart. Maybe they are too busy. Maybe they never learned. This dilemma isn’t confined to doctors, churches can leave that impression. It doesn’t take too much for a person to quickly realize that they are not welcomed nor wanted at a place. Cold. Stares. Little, if any, going out of the way to make a person feel accepted. Doesn’t  matter what is said from the pulpit, the cold atmosphere from the folks sitting in the pews will kill the future and the growth of that church. The opposite of compassion is indifferent, insensitive, heartless. The Tin Man in the Wizard of Oz was looking for a heart. It’d do well for many others to get in line behind him and look for the same thing. Heartless words. Cutting remarks. Cruel tones. Mean. None of that belongs in the heart of a Christian. We are, from our passage, to put on a heart of compassion. The “putting on” part is a choice. We choose to be compassionate or we choose not to be.

In Mark 4, when the disciples were crossing the sea and a fierce storm rocked their boat and it started filling up with water. Frightened, they woke Jesus up and asked Him a question. Their words were worse than the storm about them. They didn’t ask if He could do anything about the situation. They never asked if He had seen anything like this before. No, what they did ask was, “Do you not care that we are perishing.” Do you not care? Why did Jesus come to earth? Because He cared. Why did He put up with all the faithless remarks of the multitudes? Because He cared. Why was He keeping an appointment with the cross? Because He cared. Fewer things hurt more than, “You don’t care.”

Said in a marriage, it reveals a deep riff that will take a lot of work to heal and fix. Said among friends, and it’s the beginning of the end for that friendship. Said at work, it could be the very thing that gets you replaced. You don’t care. What is interesting is that care is demonstrated. We show we care by what we do.

Our verse follows with the expression put on a heart of “Kindness.” Kindness is compassion in action. Kindness never goes before compassion. Because a person cares, they will do kind things. Jesus felt compassion and fed the multitudes. Jesus felt compassion and healed the sick. Jesus felt compassion and did something. Without the kindness part, all we have is words. We can say, “Sure I care,” but how have we shown it. Compassion is demonstrated through kind acts, kind deeds, kind words, kind gifts. Kindness is compassion in action. In a marriage, kindness is the little sprinkles on top of a cupcake. Kindness is having your favorite meal and it’s not even your birthday. Kindness is watching a movie with your wife instead of a ballgame. Kindness is picking up around the house. Kindness is flowers and notes. Kindness is sweet. Marriages need that. The daily grind of schedules can leave us tired, irritated and wondering why we are doing what we are doing. Kindness recognizes the effort. Kindness appreciates.

In a congregation, compassion is expressed by kindness. Hugs and smiles and laughter and being together are all part of this. Supporting one another and being there for one another is part of kindness. The sports world has taken a fancy to those young Kansas City Royals. They don’t play conventional baseball. They are fast. They take chances. They get shallow hits that seem to work. They work well as a team and play incredible defense. When a great play is made the pitchers tip their hats to their fellow team mates. They do this so often that it catches the eyes of the commentators. They’ve never seen team players tip their hats to each other as often as the Royals do. They are expressing their appreciation for one another. It’s simply an act of kindness. Nothing big, but in a world of big salaries and big egos, it goes a long way to reinforce that baseball is a team sport. Everyone needs each other. Those tipping hats have got my attention. It’s a form of compassion and kindness.

We do well to tip our hats more and point our fingers less. It’s easy to complain. It’s easy to see what needs fixing. It’s easy to take one another for granted. But bless those who are working hard. Sure it’s their job and certainly that’s what they are supposed to do, but tip a hat to the once in a while. It’ll put a smile on their face and let them realize that you notice what they are doing.

Here’s a few tips of the hat:

• To those that do a great job at cleaning the church building. It’s hard work. I’ve been some places that really look like a dump. It’s shameful. But I’ve been to many places, and especially to my place, where it’s clean, sparkling, and inviting. The isn’t a burned out light bulb to be found. The bathrooms look and smell nice. The books are stacked up. The place has been dusted, swept and readied for the worshippers of God. Now in the big picture of salvation, a clean church building probably isn’t a game changer, but it sure is nice and speaks well of those who work hard at it. TIP OF THE HAT TO THOSE FOLKS.

• To those hard working teachers and preachers who are eager and ready to teach God’s word. Those folks have studied in the evenings. They have written things out, printed them and have a  heart that wants to teach. The bulletin is always printed. The lessons are thought out and ready. Young preachers who work hard learning and finding the best way to do their best are such a great plus for any congregation. Zack is our guy where I’m at. Young, powerful, dynamic, smart, talented and just busting it for the Lord. He even makes an old guy like me look good. TIP OF THE HAT TO THOSE FOLKS.

• To the amazing shepherds in a congregation who truly understand that their work isn’t about buying sweepers, writing checks or doing the monthly schedule. They know that their work is the sheep. They love the sheep. They want the sheep to do well. They pray for the sheep. They are in the homes meeting families. Often their work is with broken lives and broken promises. There are working on wounded hearts and discouraged souls. They simply won’t give up on people. Hours and hours are poured into making things better for the church. These men have compassion at the core of all they do. There are a group of six where I’m at that are just like this. Amazing. Loving. Busy. Honest. Godly. TIP OF THE HAT TO THOSE FOLKS.

• To the many Jump Start readers who have encouraged me and through your efforts spread our little devotions world wide. Our readership tops 2,000 people. Nearly every day someone sends me an email about something I wrote. There is a question, a correction, a thought or some heart that has been touched. It’s is amazing. Just one example, as services ended last evening where I was filling in, a wonderful gentleman came up to me and said earnestly, “Don’t ever quit those Jump Starts.” Wow. I don’t know what good we have done but through your help many people have given thought to the Lord. I would have never reached so many of these without your compassion and help. TIP OF THE HAT TO THOSE FOLKS.

Now it’s your turn? Who would you tip your hat to? Your spouse? Your parents? Look around today and notice who is really doing a good job. Let them know that. Tip your hat to them.

Kindness and compassion—the Lord knows we need those. That’s why the Bible says, “Put them on…”

Roger