The Heart of God

Compassion

What are some things that stir up your compassion? Do you have a soft spot for animals? The homeless? Young children? The elderly? The peope who get bullied, left out, and cast aside? Compassion starts with an emotion that should lead to action. So what do you do with the compassion you feel?

The first word God uses to describe himself in Exodus 34:6 is compassionate. Not awesome. Not powerful. Not infinite. Not amazing. But compassionate — a word that in the Bible is often connected to motherhood and motherly love. God is even compassionate toward people who continually turn away from him and pursue other loves and false gods, the ultimate act of rejection. He knows that human hearts wander and waver. That's why he has always had a plan to rescue and save us through the death and resurrection of Jesus.

We love and follow a God of compassion who loves and cares for us in ways that can't easily be put into words. That's really good news.

Talk about the questions below, watch the video, and read the Bible passages to learn more about God’s compassion and how it affects our entire life.

Warm-Up

  • What are some things that stir up compassion in your heart? Have you ever volunteered somewhere and been so impacted that you wanted to go back and help some more?
  • Think about a time that someone showed compassion to you. What happened and what was that like for you?
  • Why do you think God chose "compassion" as the first word to describe himself?

Watch

"How God Begins to Describe Himself in the Bible"​ [5:05] *This video mentions King Solomon and Isaiah.

Read

Exodus 34:6-7 (the words God spoke after his people were freed from slavery)

Isaiah 49:14–16 (a prophet's words about God hundreds of years later, after his people had been defeated by enemy armies and exiled to a foreign land)

Respond

  • What do you think about God having motherly compassion? Why do you think God chose that description and imagery for himself?
  • Knowing God's compassion is in some ways like motherly love, what do you think about Jesus being born to a human mother, Mary?

Engage

Read Luke 7:11–17 (Jesus raises a widow's only son)

  • Why do you think Jesus felt compassion for this woman? (Very soon Jesus would be crucified, and his own mother would be mourning for him.)
  • Why do you think Jesus intentionally showed compassion to the mother even though she never asked for his help or even knew he was nearby?
  • When and how have you experienced God's compassion, whether in big or small ways.?

End

Jesus showed compassion to all kinds of people that others ignored — the poor, the sick, the rejected, the hurting. Every story about Jesus is a story about compassion. The ultimate expression of his compassion was his willingness to to die for us. Jesus was so moved by human slavery to sin that he paid the ultimate sacrifice to provide a rescue.

P.S.

For even more insight into Jesus' character and ministry, check out the story just before this one (Luke 7:1–10) and compare the characters, setting, and events. The similarities and differences between the two stories highlight just how deep and wide Jesus' compassion really is.