Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

“Compassion is an action word with no boundaries. It is never wasted.” – Prince

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Luke 7:2-3

A centurion there had a slave who was ill and about to die, and he was valuable to him. When (the centurion) heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and save the life of his slave.

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Jesus definitely had a heart for the poor and the marginalized.

We see this throughout the gospels as he reached out to the sick and disabled, all who were cast-out of society.

Jesus joined them and brought healing to them.

Compassion spurred him to do this.

But in today’s scripture, we see Jesus being asked for help by a centurion, a commander in the Roman army.

This was a leading member of the army that was oppressing the Jewish people.

Surely Jesus would rebuff him and ridicule him, right?

Wrong.

Jesus heals the man’s slave.

Compassion spurred him to do this.

Of course, the slave will eventually still die.

We all do.

And, the centurion will have to come to grips some day with being a member of a system that is oppressing fellow human beings.

Could Jesus’ act of compassion have led to a conversion of heart in the centurion?

Scripture does not tell us.

But in the re-telling of this story, I’m betting many hearts have been moved.

How about yours?

What if today we stopped demonizing those whom we disagree with and instead saw their common humanity?

What if while still standing for the truth as we know it with our limited brains and limited information, we tried to remain in relationship with those we vehemently disagree?

Let’s face it: all of us are acting out of some degree of ignorance and bias.

May we each become more humble and compassionate.

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Listen to the song of the day “You’ll Lead Me” on the Listen to Your Heart album by clicking HERE.

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Purchase my new book “Listen to Your Heart: A Daily Devotional of Calling, Purpose and New Life” on Amazon by clicking HERE.

Purchase my book “Mercy Reigns: A Daily Devotional of Compassion, Comfort and Healing” on Amazon by clicking HERE.

Remember: God loves you!