“And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her…”
Luke 7:11-17
Based on one definition, to have compassion means to empathize with someone who is suffering and to feel compelled to reduce the suffering. This is exactly what Jesus did when the Centurion asked for healing for his servant, earlier in Luke 7; and now we see Him again being compassionate towards the grieving widow.
During Jesus’ ministry, He continuously showed the importance of ‘action’ as part of the Christian journey and this is our mission as well; to move past the ‘feeling’ of empathy for those in need to being dedicated to ‘doing’ by helping whenever and however we can.
Scripture says that reports about Jesus’ ministry “spread through the whole of Judea” and this was before Facebook, Instagram and Twitter! People were converted not only by what Jesus said but also by what he did to show compassion. There are always people who are suffering and in need of our compassion. Covid-19 has brought the plight of many to the fore. There is no better time to be compelled to help those in need!