Ange. Yeshua. xedgex.
I find myself all over the country following God's call to love mankind.

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The brightest diamond;

They tell me I'm crazy, but You told me I'm golden.

It is said that people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. This sentiment was clearly understood by the early Christians living through a series of devastating plagues that ravaged the Roman Empire. In contrast to the baffled doctors and terrified pagans, Christians defied every expectation and risked death to tend the sick and dying. Seizing the opportunity to express God’s love in deeds of compassion, Christians nursed the sick, gave provisions, paid for burials and cared for needy people, irrespective of their religious beliefs. No one could miss the God glorifying care shown by these Christians, and there are records of observers remarking, “Look how they love one another.” Is it any wonder that the early church experienced explosive growth?
The New Testament is brimming with accounts of people being cared for at their point of greatest need. Whether it is Jesus feeding five thousand, Peter restoring Tabitha to life, or Paul exhorting the Galatians to bear one another’s burdens, God’s care is at the heart of the gospel.
In 2012, each one of us can demonstrate God’s love simply by caring for people in their brokenness, and being available in times of need.

It is easy to be nice to someone who is nice to you, but what about people that have hurt you, people that you supervise or control, people that hate you, and people that are just plain bad? When you have the capacity to treat everyone with the same respect and compassion, this is the essence of human kindness.

Mercy is defined in the dictionary as “compassionate or kindly forbearance shown toward an offender, an enemy, or other person in one’s power; compassion, pity, or benevolence:”. To have mercy on someone is at the heart of human kindness.

We all have our dark moments where we wrong each other, so remember before you harbor resentment, that you yourself would wish for mercy.

Being compassionate means letting your actions be guided by love - not in the sense of romantic or sexual love, but in recognition and appreciation for the unique characteristics of everyone. When we are mindful that every event is unique and every person who has ever lived is irreplaceable, it is far easier to value the lives and happiness of others and to desire their misfortunes corrected.

Being compassionate means practicing patience. If a person we meet is tired, stressed, frustrated, afraid, or worn down from the demands of life, and if that strain causes them to act more brusquely or less politely than they otherwise would, it is far too easy for we who do not see the reasons behind their behavior to respond in the same manner. This only gives others additional motivation to be hostile and continues the cycle of bad feeling and anger. On the other hand, a gentle reply, even in the face of provocation, can turn aside hostility and prevent it from perpetuating itself. Compassion encourages us to take all mitigating factors into account before reacting.

Being compassionate means establishing and enforcing justice. I think it is a common misconception that compassion and justice are intrinsically opposed, such that increasing one means decreasing the other. On the contrary, I believe that being a compassionate person -demands- a solid foundation of justice. 

What is compassion? Simply giving something away-whether it’s your money or your time- doesn’t neccessarily mean you have compassion for someone else. Never make the mistake of equating generosity with compassion. If anything, a generous spirit flows from your compassion, not the other way around. True compassion means that you see other people the way God sees them. It means looking into the heart of these people that God, for one reason or another, brings into your life.

These people may be people you’ve known-at least know about- for years. They may be strangers. They all have one thing in common: they are loved equally by God, who made them in His image. Who is your neighbor? Anyone in need, whether the need is physical of spiritual. True compassion reaches out to your neighbor.