MATTHEW 11:28-30 – Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
THEME OF THE DAY. TRANSFORMED BY CHRIST’S COMPASSION. One of the greatest theologians of all time, B.B. Warfield wrote a book The Person and Work of Christ. Chapter four is titled “The Emotional Life of Our Lord.” Quoting Warfield, “The emotion which we should naturally expect to find most frequently attributed to that of Jesus whose whole life was a mission of mercy, and whose ministry was so marked by deeds of beneficence that it was summed up in the memory of His followers as a going through the land doing good is no doubt compassion.”
The compassion of Christ. Is it not captured in today’s scripture? By the way, in all four gospels,– eighty-nine chapters – today’s scripture is the only place where Jesus describes His own heart. And what explodes from His words? The compassion of Jesus. It is seen in His loving invitation to come to Him for what only He can give; heart rest; His loving description of His approachability; “I am gentle and lowly in heart”, and not stated but implied is the staggering truth that He would leave a perfect heaven and fellowship with His Father to be the God of all compassion to us who deserve not a drop of His compassion! It is a worthy study to trace the word “compassion” in the gospels. Please do it. It will take you into greater experiences of His compassion beyond just knowing it as fact. And that leads to the application of today’s nugget. If we are experiencing the compassion of the Lord Jesus, it will transform our lives. It must. The Apostle Paul tells us the process of spiritual growth, which is conformity to the image of the Lord Jesus, is by beholding Him – And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:18). In the application of today’s theme, the more we behold the compassion of Jesus, the more we become compassionate like Jesus. We will see this transformation practically lived out in at least two ways . . .
First, if the compassion of Jesus is transforming us, our obedience to all His commands will become intense acts of love. Our obedience will not be “have to” duties, but “get to” privileges motivated by love. In a very real way, we will be able to say and live this testimony of the Apostle Paul, “For the love of Christ controls us” (2 Corinthians 5:14a).
Another practical outflow of encountering Christ’s compassion and being transformed by it is the increasing reputation we will have in our families and beyond of being a Christian who loves. The Apostle Paul quickly recognized this trait in other Christians. Of Philemon he wrote, “I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers, because I hear of your love and of the faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus and for all the saints.” Christian, if we are not building a reputation of being a Christ-centered, Spirit-led, and self-denying person who is increasingly living under the control of Christ’s love, something is seriously wrong in our walks with the Lord Jesus. He said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people (FIRST AND FOREMOST OUR SPOUSES, CHILDREN, AND EXTENDED FAMILY) will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35).
Oh, the compassion of Christ. It is freely given to be freely received and radically transform us into the image of Him who is full of compassion!
PRAYER: “Lord, I praise You for not only being my God, but my God full of compassion.”
QUOTE: “Those who experience the compassion of Christ to themselves cannot help but display His compassion to others impartially.”