Do You Really Show Compassion?

[402 words] Many times, I will hear a person say, “I really feel sorry for them” when hearing about someone else’s difficult situation. We may label such feelings as compassionate, because many dictionaries define compassion something along the line of “Sympathetic pity and concern for the sufferings and misfortunes of others” (Oxford English Dictionary). But is that all compassion really is? Jesus was the king of compassion and as such, knew all about how compassion truly is to work in one’s life (cf. Matt. 14:14; 20:34; Mark 1:41; 6:34; Luke 7:13-14). In teaching about this in Luke 10, Jesus tells a very familiar story – the Parable of the Good Samaritan. As we know, Jesus told about a certain Jew who fell among thieves, was beaten, and left for dead. We also know how a priest and Levite came and passed by on the other side. Let’s pick up the…