Be Like the Father of Mercies

The title of my sermon today is, Be Like the Father of Mercies. Now, I've given renditions of the sermon the last couple of Sabbaths and the Rust and a Texarkana, and last Sabbath I happened to see that the reference to Be Like the Father of Mercies was the scripture of the day Dr. Ward chose for last Sabbath. And so, you know, it's interesting when that sort of thing happens.

And so, it's a message I'm hoping will be encouraging and kind of dovetail nicely with what Dr. Ward was talking about, encouragement last Sabbath. I think it's going to work well with what Mr. Carmichael was speaking about today. And help us to understand what God's compassion and mercy is like. And that's a huge topic, and I feel like I'm just going to touch the surface of it today.

But not only to understand what God's compassion and mercy is like, but also to give us a sense of what God's expectations of us is in this regard. And so, the title is, Be Like the Father of Mercies, and as we've heard, we've all been feeling different challenges and trials.

There's been different sorrows, I know in our family, we've had our share unexpectedly this past week too. But we have God to look up to and be comforted by. Now, there are various ways, of course, we can explain how God is merciful towards us. We can start really big and talk about God as our Creator. He created everything, His vast universe. He created us out of the dust of the ground. He breathed into us existence. He gave us an intellect. He gave us a will.

He provides for us and sustains us. And this little speck of dirt in the cosmos, the universe called the earth, is a perfect little create. He created us for humanity to grow and to have an opportunity, according to His will, to become more like He is. And as we understand from Scripture, God the Father and Jesus Christ are very involved in creating humanity in their divine image. It's a process by which all human beings will receive the opportunity to become sons of daughters of God, members of His divine family. It's very encouraging to think about that.

And so God established His plan of salvation by which sinful humanity could, through faith in Jesus Christ, conquer the world, overcome the world, overcome sin, and of course overcome their own carnal human nature. And this plan included the Father willingly giving His Son the Word who became Jesus Christ and included Christ willingly laying down His life for our sins so that through faith every human being might have a right relationship with God and receive the gift of salvation, eternal life.

Now, when I told you I don't quite know where to begin talking about compassion, what I just explained to you is an incredible act of compassion and mercy on God's part. In an act of compassion and mercy, He is still going with us, still working with us. God is a God of compassion and mercy. That's what the Holy Scripture tells us. Turn with me a few places here.

Let's look at Psalm 86, verse 15 to begin. Psalm 86, verse 15, and some of these verses have been transformed into hymns through the centuries. Psalm 86, verse 15 states a prayer of David, But you, O Lord, are a God full of compassion and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in mercy and truth. Also, let's turn to Lamentations, or perhaps you remember Dr. Ward reading it last week. I did listen to his sermon this past week. You weren't here and you missed it, you can go to the website and you'll find it posted there.

You can listen to it. Lamentations, chapter 3, and verses 22 through 24. I'm going everywhere except the Lamentations. There you go. Lamentations 3, 22, 24. Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed, because his compassion fails not. They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, says my soul. Therefore, I hope in him. Now in 1 Peter, chapter 1, verse 3 through 5, Peter describes the Father again as being abundant in mercy, and especially in that he has begotten us to a new hope of eternal life through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the grave.

In here in 1 Peter 1, verse 3 through 5, we read, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time. And so God is abundantly compassionate and merciful in our need of salvation. Now to 2 Corinthians, chapter 1, verse 3 through 4, 2 Corinthians, chapter 1, verse 3 through 4, and here you may recognize this from last week in the title of my sermon today.

Paul writes here in 2 Corinthians 1, verse 3 through 4, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation that we that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

And so our Heavenly Father is the source of all mercies and comfort. God's plan for humanity's salvation, as I referred to earlier, gives us great cause to praise and revere God, and also to be comforted in our troubles and sorrows. We can look to that hope of salvation. And truly God our Father is the Father of mercies and all comfort, and He and Jesus Christ are fulfilling their plan of salvation so that we in all humanity, every human being might become members of their divine family.

God is indeed compassionate and merciful, and that is true. And there's something else that's true.

God wants us to be like Him. God wants us to be like Him. That means that we must be a people and individuals of compassion and mercy. That truth is also borne out in His Word. For example, 1 Peter chapter 3, verse 8 through 9. 1 Peter chapter 3, verses 8 through 9.

1 Peter 3, 8 through 9. Peter writes, Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another. Love as brothers. Be tender-hearted. Be curious.

Not returning evil for evil, or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, blessing, knowing that you were called to this. Compassion and mercy is part of our calling, and it's that we, you, may inherit a blessing, Peter says. In Colossians chapter 3, verse 12 through 15. Colossians chapter 3, verse 12 through 15.

Here Paul writes, Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies. Put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering, bearing with one another. Forgiving one another. Forgiveness is a huge part of mercy.

And if anyone has to complain against another, even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. It's not a suggestion. You must do. And above all, but above all these things, Paul writes, put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And finally, Luke chapter 6, verse 36.

Jesus Christ always had a way of getting to the point. Luke 6, verse 36.

Jesus said, Therefore, be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful. So again, I say, that is the truth. God wants us to be like Him. We too must be people of compassion, people of mercy, individuals of compassion and mercy.

But I have a question. What exactly does compassion mean?

What exactly does compassion mean? What exactly does mercy mean? Do they mean the same thing?

The fact is, compassion and mercy are two different things, although they are intricately related, and although at times we may use them interchangeably as if they are the same thing. They kind of are, but they're also different. We're going to look into that a little bit.

If I'm asked to do something to be something, I want to make sure I understand the concept. So let's understand the concept a little bit more.

Now the Cambridge dictionary defines compassion as a strong feeling of sympathy and sadness for the suffering of others and a desire to help them.

I'll repeat that. Compassion is a strong feeling of sympathy and sadness for the suffering of others and a desire to help them. Now empathy can often be considered part of sympathy, but empathy is sort of like walking people's shoes. I have not gone through the same sufferings as some of you have, so I may not be able to empathize, but I can sympathize, and I think that is part of this idea.

Now, Mounce's complete expository dictionary adds that compassion carries the idea of being moved in the inner parts of the body. This is kind of fun. You see the ancient thought of the inward parts of the body. This is still from Mounce's. The ancient peoples thought of the inward parts of the body. That is the entrails. If you have the Old King James, you may say the phrase, bowels of compassion.

Does it sound too pleasant in some ways? Well, that's the old way of saying it. For the ancients, the inward innards, the bowels composed the liver, the stomach, the lungs, and even the heart.

Today in English, our expression is we talk about hearts of compassion, hearts of mercy, but it carries that same idea of the bowels, the inner part of us. They saw the innards, the intrals, all these things, the heart, as being the seat of emotions. And so that becomes our idiom, our expression today. And if you ever noticed, I think ladies are a little too polite to say it, but men talk about my gut's telling me this is the right thing to do, right? You have a gut reaction.

That's your passion. That can be your compassion. You can feel that way about fear. You can feel that way about anxiety. You can have that feeling about excitement and love. It's the idea that compassion and pity also seem to be centered in our innards deep within. And I think we've had feelings that we understand how that works. Now mercy, on the other hand, has several, has a variety of definitions. The Cambridge dictionary defines mercy as, mercy is kindness that makes you forgive someone, usually someone that you have authority over.

That's interesting. It's a kindness that makes you forgive someone, usually someone that you have authority over. There's more to this. There's other aspects of meaning. The Merriam-Webster word central. I did this one. It's more addressed to the simplistic, more simpler wording here. Merriam-Webster wordcentral.com. It defines mercy as the kind and gentle treatment of someone, as a wrongdoer or opponent, having no right to it. It's the idea of being kind to somebody, even though you might say they don't deserve it. You're still kind to them. That is an aspect of mercy. And then a third aspect of mercy. Mercy can also be kindness shown to victims of misfortune.

Mercy can be kindness shown to victims of misfortune or suffering, something like that.

So what we learn from these definitions is that mercy, which includes acts of kindness and of forgiveness, is a response to feeling true compassion. And that's the relationship.

When you have compassion, the ideal is you're motivated to do something with that compassion.

Now scripture does help understanding a little bit more about God's compassion, God's mercy. Scripture oftentimes talks about God's compassion and mercy by comparing it with the compassion and mercy parents might have for their children, or we would hope they have and should have for their children. Let's look at Isaiah 49 for example. We see this figurative language being used in that way. In Isaiah 49, verses 14-15, and in verse 14, here we see Zion as referenced. Zion is symbolic, is a place name, but it's also symbolic of Jerusalem. It can also symbolize God's chosen people. Here in Isaiah 49, verse 14, Zion is depicted as being forlorn and desolated, and it's given personification. It's speaking with the belief that it has been forgotten by God, that Zion is talking God saying, you've forgotten me. We see this in verse 14. But Zion said, the Lord has forsaken me, and my Lord has forgotten me. Now to which God replies, verse 15, God replies, can a woman forget her nursing child and not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget God says, yet I will not forget you. In other words, Zion, Jerusalem, God's chosen people, may think that God had forgotten them. We may even think God forgets us. But God declares that he will never forget. He will never forget them. Just as a mother always has compassion, sympathy, tender affection for her children, for her son, so God will always have compassion for his people. That's a very comforting thought. Then in Psalm 103, Psalm 103, verse 11 through 14, please, in Psalm 103, verse 11 through 14, hear God, its compassion and mercy is like unto a father's love, to a father's love. Verse 11, David writes, for as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his mercy towards those who fear him. Speaking of God, as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us, as a father pities his children. Now, the English Standard Version says, as a father shows compassion for his children, so the Lord pities those who fear him, for he knows our frame, he remembers that we are dust. So again, these verses remind us that God's compassion and mercy is like a father, like a mother for his children, her children. And though God loves all humanity, and we understand that God desires all to be saved, we notice here that God has particular compassion, sympathy, and desire for those who fear or revere him. It's not those who are terrorized and terrified of God, but who revere him and honor him so much that they will obey him and submit themselves or lives to him. To these, he is especially merciful, kind, and forgiving. And of course, we know that forgiveness requires repentance from sin. While we're in the book of Psalms, let's turn to Psalm 145.

We're going to delve even deeper into understanding what compassion and mercy is like.

In this hymn of praise to God, David draws our attention to some of the everyday miracles, those everyday miracles of God that we should always be grateful for. This is Psalm 145.

For example, if we look with me in verses 8 through 9, verses 8 through 9, David reminds us, he writes, The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and great in mercy. The Lord is good to all, and his tender mercies are over all his works, everything. So here David declares to God's praise that God is truly sympathetic to our sufferings. He understands, he cares for us, he desires to help us. David understood that God's compassion then makes him slow to anger and allows him to be merciful to us and willing to be forgiving and to be kind to us.

Even when we don't really deserve it. Of course, forgiveness again means that we want to stay close to God through repentance and honoring him. You know, one of the greatest mercies in kindness as God does allow to us is allowing us to repent. Can you imagine if we were never allowed to repent?

We were never allowed to be forgiven. And again, that is just one of the aspects of God's compassion and mercy. Now, the Psalms are interesting. When you study them carefully, you realize a lot of times David will make statements. He'll make statements like he just did in verse 8 through 9.

And then, in another place in the Psalms, he'll give us the facts. He'll give us the reason why he says that. And that's what he does in verses 14 through 20. He's told us that God is compassionate and mercy, worthy of our praise. And then he's going to list for us now some of these everyday works of compassion, his works of mercy. So let's read here verses 14 through 20. And as we go, I'm going to pause a little bit and look at these things he says and draw a little meaning from it for us. So in verse 14, David writes, one of the reasons he says God is gracious and full of compassion, he says, the Lord upholds all who fall, and he raises up all who are bowed down.

So here, David notes how God does help us in times of need. Those times when we feel like we just can't get up, we just can't take one step more of the burdens we're under. God steps in in times of need, and he raises us up when we are down. And of course, many of those times he does that through his promises of hope, through encouragement we find in his words and through others.

Verse 15 through 16, David says, the eyes of all look expectantly to you, speaking of God, and you give them their food and do season. You open your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing.

He provides for all. God is our maker. He still takes care of his creation. He still provides for all his creation, all the creatures. Even some of those creatures we don't like so much, God takes care of them, and he feeds them. His compassion and mercy is that great. In verse 17, David adds another to his list. He says, the Lord is righteous in all his ways, gracious in all his works.

God only does what is good and right. He does not sin. He never does evil.

Verse 18 through 19, David continues, the Lord is near to all who call upon him, to all who call upon him in truth. He will fulfill the desire of those who fear him, revere him. He also will hear their cry and save them. In our tears and our crying, we can be comforted knowing that God is near. He answers the prayers of those who truly seek him to help them and to deliver them. And then verse 20, the Lord preserves all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy. Those who love God and keep his commandments and trust in him, they can trust God to guard and watch over them. And they can also be comforted knowing that God is a God of justice, that God does see evil in the world. He does see wicked people. He does see bad people doing terrible things to the innocent. And God's watching that. The wicked, they may choose to be hostile and opposed to God, but we could be comforted knowing that God will have right justice in time according to his will and way, and the wicked will be destroyed. God is righteous and just. And so in Psalm 145, again, David praises God, helps us to see how he is compassionate and merciful. And he reminds us also why we should be truly humble and grateful to God.

But there's a little bit more. There's more for us to gain here from David's list.

Now, when we bear in mind Paul's exhortation, we read earlier in Colossians chapter 3 verse 12, that we are to put on tender mercies. Remember that? We're to put on tender mercies. And then Christ told us what? In Luke 6 verse 36, he said, be merciful, just as your Father in heaven is merciful, your Father is also merciful. Well, David's list provides us with a sort of spiritual mirror, a sort of spiritual mirror to help us evaluate the condition of our heart, to help us evaluate to see how our compassion, how our mercy compares to God, God's compassion mercy.

And so in our goal to become more like God, we can turn to David's list, in this case, and ask ourselves some rather important questions. For example, if we go back to verse 8 through 9, we can ask ourselves this sort of probing question. Are we gracious and compassionate?

In other words, are we sympathetic? Are we desirous to help others?

Are we slow to anger? Are we great in mercy, meaning kind and forgiving?

Are we good to all as God is? Now these are acts of tender mercies. This is being merciful.

Verse 14, continuing, do we help those who fall?

People stumble, and they need help. Both literally stumble physically, but also we stumble in sin sometimes. Do we help them who fall? Do we raise up all those who are bowed down? Do we do our part?

Verse 15 through 16, do we help those who look expectantly to us in their need?

God is gracious and opens His hand. When people turn to us, do we open our hand to them? Are we generous like our Father? Do we hear and respond to the cries of others? Verse 18 through 20.

Do we hear? Do we respond to the cries of others? Do we help those who fear and love God? Do we help those who fear and love God?

Now, those types of questions help us to see where we may need to change, where we may need to make some adjustments and repenting in our lives, where we need to seek God's forgiveness.

So this list of David's, although it praises God and His compassion and mercy, it also can work to help us see where we need God's help to be even more like He is. And of course, Psalm 145 is not the only spiritual mirror God gives us in His Word. We can learn much about practicing compassion and mercy by studying some of the best examples of all, and that, of course, is an example of Jesus Christ. And when we do that, and we're going to do that a little bit, I'm going to show you some as we go along here. When we study Christ's examples in practicing compassion and mercy, a pattern emerges. We begin to see a pattern.

And it begins with Christ feeling compassion for others, which then moves Him to doing an act of kind or tender mercy. There's a sequence, often. So let's return you to Matthew 14. Let's look at a few examples. The example that we are to follow in our own way of being compassionate and merciful.

Matthew 14, verse 14 through 21. Sometimes we talk about Christ's compassion. This may be some of the first places we go to in our mind, thinking about examples, what we've read. Matthew 14, 14 through 21.

This is a reference to the first time Jesus fed the multitudes by the miracle of the fishes and the loaves.

This miracle was an act of mercy. He helped them in response to His compassion for them.

Notice in verse 14. In verse 14, Jesus first had compassion on the people as they sought His help, and He took action to help them. Verse 14, we read, And when Jesus went out, He saw a great multitude, and He was moved with compassion for them, that sympathy, that desire to help, to do something. And so we read here, He healed the sick.

And when it was evening, continuing in verse 15, His disciples came to Him, saying, This is a deserted place, and the hour is already late. Send them away, send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food. Pretty much telling them, the disciples said, Let them go take care of themselves. You know, they couldn't feed them, so let them take care of themselves. But Jesus said to them, They do not need to go away, you give them something to eat. They probably, I don't know if what they wore had pockets, but they probably pulled out, we don't have anything, we only found some loaves and some fishes.

They couldn't feed them. Christ could. And so He did. Verse 17, And He said, They said to Him, We have here only five loaves and two fish. He said, Bring them here to Me. So when others could not feed these multitudes, Christ had compassion on them, He could, and He did. Now Christ was not obligated to feed the multitudes. He didn't have to. They were fully capable of, in one sense, taking care of themselves. But He chose to do so. Now, His mercy, we can see, was in feeding them. Verse 19, Then He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass, and He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke, and gave the loaves to the disciples. And the disciples gave to the multitudes. And so they all ate. They all had this great big feast. They all ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained. Now, those who had eaten were about five thousand men besides women and children. That's quite a crowd.

Now, we find the same thing happened the second time. In Matthew 15, chapter 15, probably page over in your Bibles, Matthew 15, verse 32-38. The second time. Now Jesus called His disciples to Himself, and He said to His disciples, I have compassion on the multitude.

Why did He have compassion on them? Why did He sympathize? And it felt like He needed to do something for them. I have compassion on the multitude because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat. And I do not want to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way. Now, if you just think about it, mull it over your mind, think about this man was truly thoughtful, truly kind and considerate and compassionate. And so again, He was moved with compassion, and He worked a miracle, an act of mercy and kindness. This time, feeding four thousand men besides women and children, verse 38 tells us, with seven loaves of bread and a few little fishes. Both times, Christ's compassion, He had compassion for the people. He had strong feelings of sympathy and a desire to help, and that moved Him to do acts of mercy. Of course, He's also setting an example. An example we are still learning thousands of years later today. And He healed them, and He taught them, and He fed them generously in abundance. And I think we could see He acted toward them like a compassionate father or mother. He acted with tender mercies to help the people. It's a very beautiful example. Now, compassion also moved Jesus to an act of mercy and healing the two blind men of Jericho. He turned me a few pages to Matthew 20, Matthew chapter 20, verse 29 through 34. See if you see a pattern. I think I told you what it is. I'm hoping you can see it.

Matthew 20, 29, And now as they went out of Jericho, a great multitude followed Him. And behold, two blind men sitting by the road, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David. And then the multitude warned them, the multitude warned them, that they should be quiet. But they cried out all the more, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David. So Jesus stood still and called them. And He said, and I love this, What do you want me to do for you? And they said to Him, Lord, that our eyes may be opened.

Verse 34. So Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes, and immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him. They followed Him. Now Christ's response to the blind men was quite unlike the multitudes, wasn't it? They wanted the blind men to hush up.

They opposed their cries for mercy. Do you see that? The multitude told them to be quiet. They opposed their cries of mercy. Can you ever imagine doing such a thing? But Jesus did not allow the crowd to deter Him. Instead, He asked, What do you want me to do for you? How can I serve you?

He did not ignore their cries. He did not suppress His feelings of compassion, but He helped them through His merciful act of healing. Then there's the incident, now this time in Luke chapter 19. Luke chapter 19, verse 41 through 44.

Luke 19, 41 through 44. This is a time when Jesus wept over Jerusalem.

How could you weep over a city? Well, the city was much more than just a city. Luke 19, verse 41. Now as He Jesus drew near, He saw the city up high, looking down or across over the valley to Jerusalem. He saw the city and He wept over it, saying, If you had known, even you, Jerusalem, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace.

But now they are hidden from your eyes. He's speaking of Himself. They didn't recognize Him.

They didn't accept Him as the Son of God, the Messiah. If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace. But now they are hidden from your eyes. For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you. They'll surround you and will close you on every side and level you and your children within you to the ground. And they will not leave and you once stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation. Now, clearly Christ was moved with pity. He wept.

And it seems that He foreknew that in about 40 years, Roman legions would be seized Jerusalem.

They'd brutally killed the people and raised the city and the temple to the ground.

And so, yes, He felt deep, heartfelt compassion for the city, for Jerusalem, for the people.

He knew what they would go through. And He felt deep compassion for them, even though He knew that very shortly they would absolutely reject Him and curse Him and beat Him and kill Him.

With loving compassion, He still willingly gave His life for the people of Jerusalem and all people so that all might receive God's mercy and forgiveness, all according to that beautiful, wonderful plan of salvation and according to God's will. God is compassionate and merciful.

I wonder about us today. We read the Bible. We understand prophecy. How do we feel about the people in places we love and cherish, knowing of the events prophesied to happen prior to Christ's return? Most people, many people, have never heard of Christ. They're totally unaware of what's happening or will happen. And so, do we feel compassion for them? Or do we intellectualize our feelings away and feel little or nothing? Or rather, we should be like Christ. We should strive to truly feel compassion for people. Do we pray for God's mercy and deliverance of all people from Satan and sin? Do we do our part as Christ told us to and pray that Thy kingdom come soon, quickly? That's our part. Part of our part. Now, finally, among the Scripture's most compelling examples of Christ's compassion and mercy are those words and actions of His in those final hours when He hanged crucified. When He hanged crucified, dying for the sins of all humanity, including mine and including yours. Let's turn a few pages over to Luke 23, verses 32-35. Luke 23, verses 32-35.

Here Luke records that while the rulers were mocking Him, Jesus asked the Father to forgive them. I think we remember that, but we need to read it and think about it. Let's kind of work our way to that point. Verse 32. Now there were also two others, criminals led with Him, Christ, to be put to death, and when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left. Then Jesus said, verse 34, Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do. And they divided His garments and cast lots, and the people stood looking on. But even the rulers with them sneered, New King James says, sneered, saying, He saved others, let Him save Himself if He is the Christ, the Chosen of God. Isn't that incredible? Well, not incredible. Isn't that amazing? His compassion and mercy, even in that condition. Forgive them, they do not know what they do.

Now sometime after this, Jesus also comforted that one of the criminals that was at that is being crucified alongside of Him. He was a stranger, apparently. We find this in verses 39 through 43, same chapter, Luke 23 verse 39 through 43. Here we read, then one of the criminals who are hanged blasphemed Him, blasphemed Christ, saying, If you are the Christ, save yourself and us.

Yeah, He'd like that. We probably would have too. But the other answer rebuked Him saying, the other criminal, rebuked Him saying, Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward for our deeds, but this man, this man has done nothing wrong.

And then He said to Jesus, Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom.

And Jesus said to Him, Assuredly I say to you today, you will be with me in paradise.

Even in the midst of his own terrible suffering, Christ still comforted others.

Do we hear that? Even in the midst of his own terrible suffering, Christ still comforted others.

That's a powerful lesson for us. Finally, John chapter 19. Let's look at John 19, verse 25-27.

Here, John records Jesus' concern for Mary, His mother. His mother stood close by, probably as close as she could get, and she watched and grieved at His suffering.

John 19, verse 25. Now there stood by the cross of Jesus, His mother, and His mother's sister, Mary, the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. And when Jesus therefore saw His mother and the disciple whom He loved standing by, and of course we understand that would be John who's writing this, and the disciple whom He loves standing by, He said to His mother, Woman, behold your son. And He said to the disciple, Behold your mother. And then from that hour, from that hour, that disciple took her, took Mary into his own home. And isn't it a beautiful thing that Christ made sure that His mother would be comforted and cared for in His absence?

How comforting. How beautiful that is. And of course, soon after this, Christ died.

Three days and three nights later, He arose, resurrected from the grave, that ultimate act of compassion and mercy. And He made the way to salvation, assured to every human being, whoever has or ever will live. Now God's Word tells us and reminds us of the abundance of God's compassion and mercy.

In Christ's example, it shows us how we too must feel compassion, that heartfelt sympathy, and the desire to help those truly in need. And then not just to feel it, but to do something about it, to respond with appropriate actions of mercy, whatever acts of kindness would be appropriate for forgiveness that needs to be given. That is the pattern, that is the example of God's love that Christ has set for us. And in 1 John 3, verse 16-18, 1 John 3, verse 16-18, it's essentially what we see spoken of here, the pattern or way of life that John urges us to be living every day. 1 John 3, verse 16, John wrote this, by this, by this we know love, because he, Christ, laid down his life for us, and we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

But whoever has this world's goods and see his brother in need and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. It must be action. It can't just be feeling it. We gotta do it.

Our Father and Jesus Christ feel compassion for us in all our troubles and sufferings, and that is so good to know. And they are moved to help us with many acts of mercy and kindness that we may not even be aware of at times. God loves us. He has compassion and mercy. He strengthens us with his Holy Spirit, the instruction and guidance of his word, and all that is so that we can persevere in this life, in these troubles, and so that we can be found worthy of receiving salvation, worthy of receiving his gift of eternal life. And so we must willingly submit to God's will.

We must be sincerely humble and repentant. We must always be willing to learn from him and to put into practice his way of life. And yes, that includes putting on tender mercies, learning to have compassion towards those in need, and doing acts of mercy, acts of forgiveness, acts of kindness, both great big ones and those little tiny ones. These little sympathy cards we send are very important. Our prayers are very important.

A call is very important. I'll be glad in this COVID thing over so we can go back to hugging more openly like we need to do. And in doing these things and many others, we can and we will become more and more like our Father. Now I say that, and I have to warn us that there are some challenges we face. There are challenges we face in being compassionate and merciful like God, and they are real challenges. You see, the world in our self-centered human nature would have us be hard-hearted and concerned only with our own troubles, only our own concerns, our own little world, in the center of which is me. That's a challenge for us to overcome. There may be strangers or people we know who might take advantage of our compassion and mercy, and by doing that, they could discourage us from our good efforts. They could make us not feel like being nice and kind and forgiving. That's a danger for us. And we could also become so overcome in weary in helping others, and this is this is a real challenge, we can become so overwhelmed and weary in helping others, that we might feel compassion fatigue. That is a real phrase. That really does happen. Compassion fatigue, it's called. Compassion fatigue can make us want to quit being kind and forgiving. We've had enough. I'm shutting the door, and I'm withdrawing back into my little shell.

That's a challenge.

Turn with me, please, to Luke chapter 10. Luke chapter 10, verse 30 through 37.

Luke chapter 10, 30 through 37. I wonder—this is me, I'm just wondering—the parable of the Good Samaritan.

I wonder, perhaps some of those real-life challenges I just listed for you, those three things, I wonder if those real-life challenges were among the reasons why in the parable of the Good Samaritan, the priest, and the Levite did not help the man.

They did not help the man who is robbed and wounded by thieves.

Remember, we can read verse 30, how he was left half dead to die on the road.

Let's read that. Luke 10, verse 30. Wrong chapter.

Then Jesus answered, said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell among thieves.

They stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead along the road.

Now by chance a certain priest came down that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side, and likewise a Levite. When he arrived at the place, came and looked and passed on by the other side. Verse 33. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion.

So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. It's the medicine of their day, basic medicine. And he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

And the next day, when he departed, he had a journey to K'Chinyon, he took out two denari, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, take care of him, and whatever more you spend, when I come back, when I come again, I will repay you. And then Jesus asked the crowd there, so which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?

And he said, the one who responded, he said, he who showed mercy on him, he who showed these acts of mercy and kindness. And then Jesus said to him, go and do likewise.

The Samaritan did the right thing. He had compassion, and he reacted to his compassion. He took action with an act of mercy. That's what those who love and revere God are to be doing.

So why didn't the priests in Levite have compassion and mercy?

Well, like us, like us, they should have known God's law and God's expectation. It's summarized in verse 27, just above this parable. Verse 27, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind. Deuteronomy 6 verse 5. And love your neighbor as yourself. Leviticus 19 verse 18. That summarizes the law of God. They should have known that. I think it's safe to say they did know that. So why didn't they act on it?

Perhaps they'd become hard-hearted, as I said earlier. Perhaps they're fearful of being taken advantage of. Perhaps they suffered from compassion fatigue. I'm trying to be generous, because I don't know why. But these things are possible, just as they're possible for us.

In any case, they failed to love their neighbor.

Now, whenever I read or think about this parable, I envision myself as being like the good Samaritan. I'm going to be compassionate and merciful. But as I study myself, at times I find myself maybe more like the priest and the Levite than like the compassionate and merciful Samaritan.

And maybe we all feel that way at times. We know we fall short of the ideal.

We know to do good, but sometimes we fail to do it. Right? So what do we do? So what do we do?

Well, the answer is, in sincere repentance, then, we must go to God.

We must go to God, our Father of mercies and all comfort. We go to the source of all mercy and all comfort, and we ask Him for His forgiveness. We ask Him for repentance, and we ask Him for help. He's the source.

Now, what might we pray and ask Him for? What might we pray and ask Him for?

Here's what I would want to ask.

I'd ask that He would help us. We would ask that He would help us to be more compassionate.

Ask God that He would help us be more compassionate.

Ask that God would help us not to suppress or push away our desire to help others.

We feel that sometimes, and we let distractions or other things get in the way, and we don't come back to it.

We should ask God to help us not suppress our desire to help others. And a third thing we could ask for or pray for is that God would help us to put our compassion into acts and actions of true mercy, of kindness and forgiveness.

That's what we do. That's what we should always do if we feel that we fall short.

Now, with all I've said today, here's the main point.

If you can boil this down to one thing. Well, here's the main point.

If we feel compassion but yet somehow fail to act upon it, then we are failing to be merciful.

If we feel compassion but yet somehow fail to act upon it, then we are failing to be fully, truly merciful.

And here's the sad, dangerous thing. If we fail to act, then we may come in time to stop feeling at all.

If we fail to act on our compassion, we may stop feeling at all. And that is dangerous for us.

And that is not what God desires for us as His children. That is not what our Father of Mercy is in all comfort once for us.

And so, I'd encourage us to be truly grateful.

Let's be truly grateful for God's abundant compassion and mercy towards us. We've read a lot about that. We've seen a lot about that today.

And while we're being truly grateful for God's abundance of compassion and mercy for us, at the same time, I encourage us all to be more diligent in putting compassion into action. And so, to be merciful to others, even as our Father of Mercy's in all comfort, is to us.