Illustration results for compassion
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Brian McCutchen
Matthew 6:3-6:20
Matthew 6:3-7:1
Matthew 5:43-45:45
Matthew 5:16-5:18
Matthew 18:21-18:35
A little girl’s Prayer: A little girl was being punished by eating alone in the corner of the dining room. The family paid no attention to her until they heard her pray: “I thank Thee, Lord, for preparing a table before me in the presence of mine enemies.”
Army Chaplain had a sign on his door that said, “If you have troubles, come in & tell me all about them. If you don’t have troubles, come in & tell me how you do it.”
Mamie Adams always went to a branch post office in her town because the postal employees there were friendly. She went there to buy stamps just before Christmas one year and the lines were particularly long. Someone pointed out that there was no need to wait in line because there was a stamp machine in the lobby. "I know," said Mamie, ’but the machine won’t ask me about my arthritis." Bits and Pieces, December, 1989, p. 2.
SERVICE REQUIRES ACTION
A man fell into a pit and couldn’t get himself out.
A subjective person came along and said, "I feel for you down there."
An objective person walked by and said, "It’s logical that someone would fall down there."
A Pharisee said, "Only bad people fall into pits."
A mathematician calculated how deep the pit was.
A news reporter wanted the exclusive story on the pit.
An IRS agent asked if he was paying taxes on the pit.
A self-pitying person said, "You haven’t seen anything until you’ve seen my pit."
A fire-and-brimstone preacher said, "You deserve your pit."
A Christian Scientist observed, "The pit is just in your mind."
A psychologist noted, "Your mother and father are to blame for your being in that pit."
A self-esteem therapist said, "Believe in yourself and you can get out of that p...
One of my favorite comics is Peanuts. One winter evening Linus sticks his head out the door and calls to his sister Lucy, “Mom said to tell you it’s time to come in.” Standing next to her snowman Lucy says, “Rats.” As she turns to go in she says, “Goodnight friend, I’ll see you in the morning.” Standing at the front door Lucy again turns to her snowman saying, “Goodnight!” Inside Lucy takes off her coat and gloves as Linus watches TV in the background; going over to the window she looks out at her snowman friend and says, “I feel sorry for my snowman; I hate to see him stand out in the yard alone all night.” Can you guess what happens next? Linus sighs with a long frown on his face as he stands out in the cold next to Lucy’s snowman friend.
We’re not told if Linus had compassion on the snowman or not; Schultz leaves ut to wonder because when Lucy expresses her concern for her snowman Linus is no longer watching TV but is standing behind his sister with a sad look on his face. Personally, I suspect Lucy sent her brother out in the cold because she cared more about her snowman than her brother.
NOW HE KNOWS
A little five-year-old boy one day was playing with his two-year-old brother, when the two-year-old reached up and pulled his older brother's hair. He screamed in pain, and his mother came rushing in. He cried and said that his younger brother had pulled his hair. His mom said, "Well, he's only two years old, and he doesn't know what it's like to have his hair pulled."
The mom left the room, and seconds later, she heard another scream, but this time it was the two-year-old screaming in pain. She rushed in and asked what had happened, to which the five-year-old explained, "You said he didn't know what it felt like. Well, now he does."
I had a profound thought in preparing this sermon. I realized that Jesus is our Womble. Yes, that’s right, our Womble. Some of you might know the Wombles from the British TV show about those very fat lovable furry creatures. Well, did you know that in the UK there is a protest group called the Wombles. What they do is go to the major protests completely covering their bodies with pillows. Next they deliberately put themselves between the riot police and other protestors. So when the riot police get violent and try to attack or dispel the rioters these pillow laden Wombles get in the way and absorb the punishment as a buffer. It is a quite effective ploy used by the protest groups. I submit to you that Jesus is our Womble. He puts himself between us and the wrath of God and drains the wrath of God meant for us. He absorbs it with such perfection and such finality that there is none left for us. Now that’s good news!
Stolen Billfold
John was driving home late one night when he picked up a hitchhiker. As they rode along, he began to be suspicious of his passenger.
John checked to see if his wallet was safe in the pocket of his coat that was on the seat between them, but it wasn’t there! So he slammed on the brakes, ordered the hitchhiker out, and said, “Hand over the wallet immediately!” The frightened hitchhiker handed over a billfold, and John drove off.
When he arrived home, he started to tell his wife about the...
Imagine if the State of Oklahoma had to save money by having only one major state university. So OU and OSU were merged together as one school on one campus. Compromise by calling them the OKLAHOMA COWBOYS and make their sports teams dress in orange tops and red bottoms.
Do you think there would be a period of adjustment? Nothing compared to putting together Jews and Gentiles in Paul’s days.
Middle east turmoil: Jews & Gentiles trying to live together even today.
BITING THE HAND THAT FEEDS YOU
The other week, Laura and I were watching the Animal Planet. On the show we were watching was a dog that was rescued from a neglectful family. The poor animal had a big chain collar embedded into its neck. It had been a long time since the large animal had outgrown that chain collar, but its owner never bothered to change that collar. It resulted in the dog’s skin growing around the collar and the metal of the collar sinking deep into the dog’s skin.
The kind and hard working people from the Humane Society took the dog in, gave it some pain killers to put it down while they carefully removed the metal chain. They washed the poor animal, cut his hair, groomed him, and restored him to health.
After they had done all they could to restore its physical health, the dog had to undergo a test to determine if it could be adoptable. A bowl of food was placed in front of the dog, and while it was chomping down on the food, the worker used a plastic hand connected to a long stick to reach down and pet the dog. Quickly and viciously, the dog jumped and attacked the hand that it thought was reaching to take away its food. The test was re-done a few times in order to determine if the dog would consistently attack or if there was something that could be done. Every time, the dog would pounce at the hand and tear it to shreds. Unfortunately, because of his ferocity, the dog could not be adopted, and would have to be put to sleep.
As I watched that show, I wondered if God is like that trainer and I am like that dog. Maybe that dog bound with a collar that held it captive is like me, bound and held captive by my own sin. The kindly Master takes me in. He shows me compassion and mercy. By His grace, He cleans me, heals me, and restores me.
Then came the test. The dog looks and sees what it values, "food." I look in front of myself and see what I value. I call it, "blessings." Put an income in front of me, a boyfriend, a girlfriend, a position of authority, or a chance to be popular.
What happens next? When He brings His hand near to my "blessings," and I am not sure if my Master may remove it or not, the question arises. Am I quick and vicious in attacking the hand that has provided for me, or do I submit to it? Am I quick to attack the hand that cared for and nurtured me, or do I still submit to and receive its tender care? If He allows an illness to come, an accident to occur, or a recession to rise; am I so quick to turn away from Him or do I realize that I may be at the beginning of an amazing miracle?
In all honesty, from the outside looking in, I see the dog as quite silly to think that he needed to defend himself against those who so carefully nursed him back to health. I wonder if the angels around look at me and think about how silly I am during those times when I question the same One who cares for me in my time of need, the One who gave His life to die in my place.
Here is the thing. If I don’t let God come near my "blessings," what happened to the dog? He was put to sleep. Am I saying that God will put you to sleep? No. But He may put you on the shelf. God uses those who allow Him, like Moses did, to have access to what is in their hands.
