The Compassion of Jesus

It always amazes me how the Word of God leaves you in such tension sometimes. On the one hand, Jesus ministers constantly to the poor wit obvious deep compassion and yet on the other hand he tells His disciples “that the poor will always be with you” like they should ignore them. Of course He doesn’t want us to ignore them. I have ministered to the poor off and on for years. I worked down at Blood and Fire on weekends for over 3 years. I have been on countless mission trips to third world countries ministering to the poorest of the poor. But I regretfully say that I know that my heart still does not hold the compassion of Jesus for the poor. Every time I minister, I pray for more compassion. I know that I have more now than I did, but I still need more. I guess that is part of my heart’s cry for MORE. I don’t want just more power, but more love and compassion as well. 1 Cor. 13 says it all. Without love everything else is like a clanging symbol.

Today I got a chance to test my compassion level. We went this afternoon to a very poor village. There we walked around in the dust and the mud, yes it rained, talking and praying with people who have no hope except for God. Then we had a church service in a shelter made of wood, plastic and a tin roof that leaked in the rain. The little shelter was packed as the people came to seek His presence. They came to hear a tone-deaf singer with a keyboard player who didn’t know how to play, and a sound system that was of very poor quality. They came to stand on a dirt floor with sand in piles. They came walking in the pouring down rain, but they came anyway. The church in America needs to wake up. These people didn’t come for programs, they didn’t come for the new building and air-conditioned rooms. They didn’t come to hear a great band or a great preacher; they came to experience the presence and power of God. And God met them there. Once again He showed up. I know that there were healings and other fruit of His presence. It was a good afternoon and evening.

On a lighter note, we checked out of our hotel and drove into the mountain jungle of Nicaragua to stay at a “resort” called “Black jungle”. The rooms aren’t as nice, but the location is unbelievable. It is on a working organic farm. It’s been organic for over 30 years. They grow coffee, cattle, chickens, and pigs. They have their own composting system, a worm farm and they use the methane gas to help produce electricity, and it’s truly amazing what they do. We got to take an hour horseback ride through the grounds and saw most of it in action. We had lunch in their restaurant and got to drink their coffee.

Tonight we got back in time to eat at their restaurant again. All their beef and pork is grass fed and the chickens are free range. The food was delicious. To bad we are leaving too early in the morning to eat their breakfast. But we have a long day tomorrow. We leave at 8:30 and have to be at a preschool at 10. We feed them lunch and pray with them until noon, and then we are going to the dump to minister to kids there. I get another chance to expand my compassion level. This will be the poorest of the poor. I know that my heart will be broken as we minister to them. Then in the evening we will be driving almost 2 hours back to Managua. We will be staying in the city for the rest of the trip. It’s still raining. That is very rare for this time of year. I’m declaring it as a sign for all that God wants to pour down on this country. I’ve finished my post on March 1, but I won’t be able to post it until tomorrow morning right before we leave. My prayer tonight is that Papa would just fill my heart wit such compassion for the children tomorrow. I know that is His heart for me, so I know that He will answer it quickly.