Compassion

A few weeks ago we were studying a lesson on compassion at church. I had been thinking a lot about compassion since then. Some lessons only become real when we experience them in a personal way, though.

It was the last day of summer it was a beautiful day. The temperature was a rare 75 degrees in August in Tennessee. The sky was blue, and our dog, Sammy, just had to dig his way out of our yard to go explore the world. He broke through the backyard fence, and since there was no one at home we didn’t even realize he was gone until my husband came home for lunch that day. He looked for him in our neighborhood, but to no avail.

The call came at about 4 pm. A kind woman found Sammy on the road near our home and called to let me know he was gone. My heart was broken, of course. How would I tell my children? In the midst of my despair, though, a thought came to me that I just couldn’t seem to move past: This woman was a living, breathing example of compassion.

“This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. “ (I John 3:11, 16, 17 NIV)

This woman saw a need and took pity on me. She didn’t just walk past and say, “Someone really should do something about that.” She stopped what she was doing, took the collar off of a dead dog, and made a difficult phone call to a stranger. Then she pulled our beloved Sammy out of the road to the lawn and laid the collar next to him. This woman didn’t love with words or her tongue. She loved with actions and in truth. And the reality that kept coming back to me was, “I would never have done that.” Compassion became real for me that day. And I will never forget the lesson.

Chasing the Dream

We have a dog named Sammy. Sammy is 15 months old. Each morning when I wake up, the first thing I do is go look to see if Sammy is still there. You see, Sammy likes to dig. And when Sammy digs, he gets out from the yard and goes wandering in the neighborhood, looking for others to play with. Since Sammy is about 100 lbs, it isn’t difficult for Sammy to break out. Our yard looks like a war zone, with the fence patched and seamed up in various places around the perimeter. Still Sammy seeks to explore. So every morning when I rise and find him there on the porch, wiggling his tail at me happily, my silent prayer is, “Thank you Lord—he’s still here!”

Now on the occasion that Sammy does get out and I have to go looking for him, he usually isn’t far. All I have to do is find the nearest group of people, and he’ll be there. Sammy is a people dog. He loves making friends. And when Sammy sees me coming up to him, it never fails, he comes running to me, his tail wagging wildly, as if to say, “Cool! You’re here. Now you can play too!” And I open the car door and Sammy jumps right in.

What is it that makes Sammy desire to leave the comfort of his yard? Partly, I’m sure it’s hormonal—although we were certain last month’s trip to Dr. Mobley would have fixed that. But there is something about the prospect of the new day, a brand new world of adventure after a good night’s sleep, that brings on the wanderlust for Sammy. He’s got it all in our back yard. He’s got toys, food, water, bones secretly hidden, a big picture window to see into the house. But that’s not enough for Sammy. He has desires. He has dreams. And dreams deserved to be chased! So off he goes.

1 Kings 19 tells an awesome story about someone who was way off track, Elijah. He was being chased by a wicked queen who was trying to kill him, and though he was trying to serve the Lord, things just weren’t working out quite right. He was off course by about 200 miles. Discouraged and down on himself, the Bible tells us he sat under a tree and prayed that he might die. Instead the angel of the Lord came and fed him. He ate, and he was strengthened; however, he was still discouraged. So he fell asleep again. The angel came a second time and woke him up, telling him to eat and get up. This time, strengthened by the food, he got up and traveled another 40 miles to a cave in the middle of Mount Horab. It was here he had decided to spend the night, when the Lord called on him. Beginning in verse 9, the scripture says:

'And the word of the Lord came to him: "What are you doing here, Elijah?"
He replied, "I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too." The Lord said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by." Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"
He replied, "I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too." The Lord said to him, "Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. . . I reserve seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and all whose mouths have not kissed him."' (I Kings 19:9-18 NIV)

Have you ever felt the Lord asking you, “What are you doing here?” Have you ever spewed out some long story about how nothing had been going your way and you were just doing what you thought gave you your best chance of survival? Some days that’s what life seems to boil down to: mere survival. That’s where Elijah was.

So whether you’re chasing some dream of adventure and excitement, like Sammy; or merely seeking not to get killed as you wander through the battlefield of your day, like Elijah; you may find yourself a bit off track some times. The fact is, we all do. The Lord will always come looking for you when you wander astray, just as I always do for Sammy. Just make sure you’re not too proud to jump in that car and go home!

PS: The next entry will discuss why the Lord was in the whisper, and not the earthquake or fire.