When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.” Luke 7:13
Compassion is an under-rated feeling, perhaps a lost art. In a day and age where every day brings news of atrocities committed and lives lost or maimed, sometimes we find ourselves more than a wee bit anesthetized to pain and suffering.
Dictionary.com defines compassion as “a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering.” The first part of this definition defines what we feel when we see or hear about someone in pain. The latter part of this definition, though, is more than a feeling: it’s a strong desire that leads us to action, to do something to help those in need.
In the seventh chapter of Luke, Jesus and His friends walk a good day’s journey from Capernaum south to the town of Nain. It’s probably dusk when Jesus and His followers, mostly numbered in the hundreds, reach the city entrance. Dusk was the time of day funerals would be held and the dead buried far outside the city gates. Tired and hungry from their journey, they approach Nain just at the time a funeral procession is leaving the city for the burial caves. Jesus, ever aware of His physical surroundings and the emotional landscape of people He encounters, realizes the body on the bier is a young man who is survived only by his mother. In Biblical times, women didn’t have the right to financially support themselves. Instead, the men in their lives provided monetarily. Since her husband died, this woman, like other widows in this culture, depended on her son to take care of her financially. Without a husband and now without her son, this widow’s future looks very bleak. Jesus, knowing all of this, has compassion for her. In verse 13 we read these words, “When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, ‘Don’t cry.’ “
Jesus walks up to the bier and touches it. The pall bearers stop. The crowd’s collective breath is on hold as they watch wide-eyed, waiting in suspense for what will happen next. In a loud and clear voice, Jesus commands the young man to get up. Imagine the widow’s shock as she sees her son sit up and start talking. The pall bearers lower the bier and Jesus helps the young man to stand and walks him over to his overjoyed mother. The onlookers are amazed and immediately give credit to God for this miracle they have just witnessed.
The raising of the widow’s son is the first instance of Jesus raising someone from the dead. I am awed by His power, but I am overcome by His compassion. Tired from His journey, Jesus saw the funeral procession as an opportunity, not an interruption. He looked beyond the physical circumstances to see a widow’s broken heart. He went beyond mere words of “Don’t cry” to the helping and healing hands of action.
When Jesus saw the widow, the Bible says “his heart went out to her”. He felt compassion deep inside. His caring touch raised her son from the dead and His guiding hand brought her son back to her.
Jesus is the God of Compassion. His compassions never fail. They are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23). Jesus sees into our pain, has compassion on us, and has the power to transform our mourning into dancing (Psalm 30:11-12). He isn’t too busy or uncaring. Jesus sees, cares, and heals. He is the very definition of compassion. Let Him bind up your wounds. He loves you so.
Lord, I am truly overwhelmed by Your compassion. Thank You for binding up my wounds and for turning my mourning into dancing. Help me to follow Your example in not only feeling compassionate towards others, but actively showing compassion to those who need Your healing touch. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
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Text and photograph copyright © 2018 by Dawn Dailey. All rights reserved. Photo of Mount Rundle at sunset, Alberta, Canada.
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™
Compassion is an under-rated feeling, perhaps a lost art. In a day and age where every day brings news of atrocities committed and lives lost or maimed, sometimes we find ourselves more than a wee bit anesthetized to pain and suffering.
Dictionary.com defines compassion as “a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering.” The first part of this definition defines what we feel when we see or hear about someone in pain. The latter part of this definition, though, is more than a feeling: it’s a strong desire that leads us to action, to do something to help those in need.
In the seventh chapter of Luke, Jesus and His friends walk a good day’s journey from Capernaum south to the town of Nain. It’s probably dusk when Jesus and His followers, mostly numbered in the hundreds, reach the city entrance. Dusk was the time of day funerals would be held and the dead buried far outside the city gates. Tired and hungry from their journey, they approach Nain just at the time a funeral procession is leaving the city for the burial caves. Jesus, ever aware of His physical surroundings and the emotional landscape of people He encounters, realizes the body on the bier is a young man who is survived only by his mother. In Biblical times, women didn’t have the right to financially support themselves. Instead, the men in their lives provided monetarily. Since her husband died, this woman, like other widows in this culture, depended on her son to take care of her financially. Without a husband and now without her son, this widow’s future looks very bleak. Jesus, knowing all of this, has compassion for her. In verse 13 we read these words, “When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, ‘Don’t cry.’ “
Jesus walks up to the bier and touches it. The pall bearers stop. The crowd’s collective breath is on hold as they watch wide-eyed, waiting in suspense for what will happen next. In a loud and clear voice, Jesus commands the young man to get up. Imagine the widow’s shock as she sees her son sit up and start talking. The pall bearers lower the bier and Jesus helps the young man to stand and walks him over to his overjoyed mother. The onlookers are amazed and immediately give credit to God for this miracle they have just witnessed.
The raising of the widow’s son is the first instance of Jesus raising someone from the dead. I am awed by His power, but I am overcome by His compassion. Tired from His journey, Jesus saw the funeral procession as an opportunity, not an interruption. He looked beyond the physical circumstances to see a widow’s broken heart. He went beyond mere words of “Don’t cry” to the helping and healing hands of action.
When Jesus saw the widow, the Bible says “his heart went out to her”. He felt compassion deep inside. His caring touch raised her son from the dead and His guiding hand brought her son back to her.
Jesus is the God of Compassion. His compassions never fail. They are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23). Jesus sees into our pain, has compassion on us, and has the power to transform our mourning into dancing (Psalm 30:11-12). He isn’t too busy or uncaring. Jesus sees, cares, and heals. He is the very definition of compassion. Let Him bind up your wounds. He loves you so.
Lord, I am truly overwhelmed by Your compassion. Thank You for binding up my wounds and for turning my mourning into dancing. Help me to follow Your example in not only feeling compassionate towards others, but actively showing compassion to those who need Your healing touch. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Want to subscribe to future posts? Click here.
Text and photograph copyright © 2018 by Dawn Dailey. All rights reserved. Photo of Mount Rundle at sunset, Alberta, Canada.
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™
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