Compassion

This past summer I read the book The Wounded Healer by Henri Nouwen. I will admit that I do not remember what the majority of the book was about. I'm not sure I could even state the main point. All I remember from my reading is one paragraph dealing with compassion. This paragraph made me stop and think while I was reading. This paragraph makes me stop and think daily, months after I have even returned the book. I like to think that I understand what compassion is. I even like to think that I understand what it means to act with compassion, but in reading this paragraph, I realize how skewed and how far off my definition of compassion is.

"Through compassion, it is possible to recognize that the craving for love that men feel resides also in our own hearts, that the cruelty that the world knows all too well is also rooted in our own impulses. Through compassion, we also sense our hope for forgiveness in our friend's eyes and our hatred in their bitter mouths. When they kill, we know we could have done it. When they give life, we know that we can do the same. For a compassionate man, nothing human is alien: no joy, no sorrow, no way of living, and no way of dying."-Nouwen

It's hard for me to comprehend and live out that kind of compassion. I think often times, I get stuck thinking, "What kind of person would do or say that..", when the truth is apart from Jesus, I am just as capable of those offenses. I am just as capable to steal, lie, cheat, and even murder as those who do, but how lucky I am to know Jesus and His peace so that I do not. I think compassion is realizing that "nothing human is alien" and responding in that realization.

Week 2: Muslim extremists attacked Christian families, burned 50 homes and killed livestock in Pakistan. Pray families find peace. I'd also like to add pray for the extremists to know the love of Christ and turn their lives over to Him.