Have you ever heard someone say, "I hate your guts!" or "Well, that felt like a kick in the gut". GUTS is simply another word for our insides, or something deep within us.When I think of the word guts ... I think about how God must feel when His children are in pain. All throughout scripture, we see Jesus encountering hurting people and He had compassion upon them.
I looked up the word "compassion" and I found that the Greek verb that Matthew uses for compassion is the word ... splanchnizomai. I know that means absolutely nothing to you unless you studied Medicine. Because the word "splanchnizomai" refers to the study of internal organs, or as I would say, the "guts" of a person!
I found it interesting that the word "compassion" was linked up with "guts". You see, Jesus did not feel pity on people in just a casual way. He did not run on just emotions when it came to hurt and dying people.
Jesus felt the hurts of others deep down in His gut!
The pain of others felt like a sock in the stomach to Him. He felt the brokenness of the crippled person. He felt the physical suffering of the one who was diseased. He felt the loneliness of the leper and the embarrassment of the woman with many husbands.
Jesus compassion towards us is not any different.
We can be confident that He is not untouched by what hurts us and what weights heavy on us. When we feel sad ~ He is moved. When we feel confused ~ He is moved. When we feel afraid ~ he is moved. When we feel frustrated ~ He is moved. When we feel disappointed ~ He is moved.
Jesus has compassion on us.
He feels our pain.
Right down in His gut.
Now that is a deep love and deep compassion.
How about you ... what level of compassion do you have for others? Those around you that are hurting, that are lost, that are searching ... do you have compassion deep down in your gut for them?
LUKE 6:36 "You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate."
True compassion comes from down within!
and that is a piece of my heart today;
Beautiful post, but a challenging message. I have a heart of compassion, but it is nowhere close to Jesus'. If it were, my life would look a lot different than it does.
ReplyDeleteGreat post today, Laurie!
ReplyDeleteI find such great comfort in knowing that when I hurt, God is moved...every emotion that I feel, God is moved. I have to regain control of those emotions from time to time and get them back in alignment with God's word BUT...He is moved by my emotions...nonetheless.
Thanks for sharing a piece of your heart today!
((hugs))
Such a wonderful post my friend.
ReplyDeleteThis post really speaks to me, Laurie! And, somewhat goes along with some thoughts I've been pondering lately about how the Lord has experienced all the feelings that I have experienced. And, as I experience them He has such deep compassion towards me. Yes, even ME!
ReplyDeleteSo glad I didn't miss this post!
How awesome!! I've noticed this kind of gut pain before when hearing of people who were hurting, and thought I was being silly. Nice to know that i"m not alone! :)
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