Have you ever done something… or said something… and wish you could take it back? You wish you could go back in time and undo or unsay whatever you did or said.

Boy, I have… several times. Maybe you have, too.

I heard a pretty good story about a fellow in Los Angeles who rode the subway to work and back every day. And one afternoon, after a hard day, this fellow found a seat and tried to take a nap.

But at the next stop, a lady and her five children got on the train. And her children were just noisy and rambunctious. I mean they were out of control. They were yelling and screaming and running up and down the subway car. The fellow noticed that the mother had her head down and her eyes closed. She wasn’t paying any attention to her kids at all.

And that made the man angry—I mean steaming mad. And he got up from his seat and walked over to the mother. The kids were still screaming and the mother still had her head down. And the fellow said, “Lady… you gotta do something about those kids. They’re driving me crazy!”

The mother looked up and the man could see that she had tears streaming down her cheeks. Her eyes were red and swollen. And she said, “Yes, I’m sorry. I wasn’t paying attention to them. We just left the hospital and my husband has died. I’m having a hard time dealing with it and I guess the kids are, too.”

Boy, you talk about feeling about one inch tall! The fellow just kind of slinked back to his seat wishing he could take his words back.

Now, the point of the story is this—sometimes, it is very hard for us to show people compassion. We’re too busy thinking about our own problems … our own discomforts … and we don’t stop to think that somebody else might actually have it worse than we do.

Compassion is a necessary part of a Christian’s walk with Jesus. Matthew tells us that Jesus' ministry was a ministry of compassion. Jesus touched the leper, healed the blind and lame and spent a lot of time with social outcasts. He was a friend to people who didn’t have any friends.

In Matthew 9, the Bible says, "³⁵Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. ³⁶When he saw

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the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd." (vs.35-36).

If Jesus showed compassion on people who were hurting, then we need to also show compassion to those who hurt.

David prophesied about Jesus in Psalm 72, where he said,

¹¹And let all kings bow down before him,
         All nations serve him.
¹²For he will deliver the needy when he cries for help,
         The afflicted also, and him who has no helper.
¹³He will have compassion on the poor and needy,
         And the lives of the needy he will save.

Paul exhorted the church in Colossae to be just like Jesus. Colossians 3:11ff,

¹²So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness andpatience; ¹³bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.

My encouragement for you today is to look for opportunities to be compassionate people. Be a friend to someone in this place who is lonely. Give a kind word to someone who is having a hard day.

Let each of us live every day in the footsteps of our Savior … following Christ's example of being compassionate and a source of strength to those around us who are hurting.