Compassion

I am sure you've had the experience where a certain word or thought gets stuck in your brain. That's what happened to me last week. On Tuesday morning during my personal devotion time I focused on Psalm 51:1. The word that kept replaying was compassion. "According to your great compassion, blot out my transgressions." I marveled at God's great compassion when it comes to dealing with my sinful nature.

I have always considered myself a compassionate person. I sincerely feel I have the spiritual gift of compassion. But I still have a long way to go and that day compassion was definitely on my mind.

The next morning I found myself at DFW Airport carrying out my duty as a volunteer ambassador. I was at my usual post at Gate C-12 when I noticed a well-dressed Japanese man staring at the departure moniter with a confused look. I approached him with my usual, "May I help you." His smiling response was "Little English." I reached for his boarding pass, which he had placed in his passport. He was trying to connect to a flight to Tokyo. That meant he would be departing from International Terminal D. In this case it was gate D-30 and I printed that information on his boarding pass.

To get to his gate required riding the Skylink, a train connecting the terminals. I knew he would need assistance finding his way. So I gestured for him to follow me and headed for the escalator. As we ascended I turned to see a smiling face.

We soon arrived at the station and I pointed to the sign that read "Terminal D & E." As the train approached a woman standing next to us asked, "Is he going to Tokyo?" When I responded,"Yes." she replied, "I'll take care of him." The doors opened and he stepped unto the train. At that point he turned and bowed in the traditional oriental fashion and then spoke in very clear English, "Compassion."

What was God trying to tell me? The word had been stuck in my head and now a total stranger had caused me to focus on it even more. The message became clearer when I arrived at my church for my scheduled Wednesday men's Bible study. Each week we do a textual study of the lessons for the next Sunday. Our pastors are currently doing a series on Psalms. This week the focus was to be on psalm 145:8-9. "The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love." There was that word again! When we turned to the espistle lesson from Colossians 3, it was there again. "Cloth yourself with compassion..." Where was this leading me?

Each day I step into the closet. It is filled with clothes. Some are dress clothes, others more casual. There are jeans and dress slack, work shirts and dress shirts. I have a choice when it comes to my appearance. I chose what I am going to put on that day and in the process determine the image I wish to project. It's the same way with my attitude. I can choose to cloth myself with compassion, in the same way I can chose kindness, humility and other spiritual gifts.

As a parent, you need to do the same thing when it comes to our relationship with our children. We need to be mindful that we are the adults in the parent-child relationship. If the relationship is to be fruitful and positive, it must begin with us. So cloth yourself with compassion this day, and remember patience is a spiritual gift as well. That one is vital too when dealing with teenagers.