"Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience."
A few years ago, the Dalai Lama argued that women have a greater capacity for compassion when he called for more leaders who embodied compassion. He chalked up the woman's ability to be more compassionate than a man to her biological make-up. I would imagine that is rooted in her maternal capabilities. Women have the ability to form a unique physical connection with their offspring that I suppose could influence their ability to experience compassion because they can be so deeply acquainted with their own child and how it feels to "suffer with" one who was once a part of themselves. But I would also venture to guess that socialization and cultural influence play more of a role than actual biological make-up. It is an interesting theory nonetheless.
I think that I often struggle to understand compassion. Compassion is usually a word I use interchangeably with empathy, but the more I examine empathy the more I see that these two words are quite different in meaning with each other. I felt implored to look at compassion more deeply as I am studying through the book of Colossians. Since I was 17, I have referred to Colossians 3:12-17 as my life verses, the words that I felt the Lord had laid on my heart to live out, particularly when it came to approaching a career in counseling. They were verses shared with me by a mentor I had my junior year of high school. She encouraged me to pursue a life following Christ in which I utilized how He created and gifted me by providing counsel for others. She saw this happening already throughout my high school years. I, however, was a little less enthused at the prospect. It was one thing to listen to a friend and encourage her in a way that hopefully pushed her closer to Christ, it was another to say that was my life's purpose and possibly career.
Of course, as it would work out, that is exactly what has become of my life. The role of counselor is often where I find myself. And even though I attempted to run away from it as a career, I can sense the Lord is drawing me back to it. The words in these verses, written by Paul, exhort the Colossians to live in such a way that Christ-like characteristics are intentionally put on each day, and sinful inclinations and desires are intentionally set aside. The former is the key to overcoming the latter.
Where we begin in this effort is by asserting who we are. "As God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved" the Colossians, and thereby Christ followers are then instructed to clothe themselves in a list of Christ-like characteristics. I often viewed the verses that follow as almost impossibilities to achieve. And that is because I often view things like this, verses like these as work I need to do rather than a work Christ does in me. That is not to say, I passively sit by and ask the Lord to make me kind. I do that, absolutely, because I recognize, in my flesh, following my most human desires, kindness isn't what naturally exudes. However, if I am praying and seeking the truth of these words to take root in my own life, because I love the Lord and I desire to please Him then it becomes more of a tangible, real, authentic development in my inner being where kindness is something I aim to be and do.
As I have made my way to Colossians 3, in my study of this short book, I have found myself stuck on the word compassion. I circled it. I thought about it. I defined it. I journaled about it. I researched it. I cross-referenced it. I searched out where else in Scripture does compassion is noted. The most prevalent use of the word is to describe God himself, specifically in the Old Testament.
Then in the New Testament compassion becomes something Jesus acted in and with and then ultimately what followers of Jesus are called to act in as we have the model of God's compassion consistently with us, from the beginning of creation to now.
Compassion literally means to "suffer with"
Bearing that definition in mind and considering what I see in the Bible: Compassion is something that endlessly abounds from the Lord, like grace. And yet, the recipient of constant compassion, I struggle to clothe myself in compassion day to day. What I find easier to do is to cut others off, to handle things alone, to turn a blind eye, to ignore and avoid and hide. That is easy, and relatively painless. To live and act in compassion, that is something that requires deeper understanding and a heart more deeply aligned with the will of the Lord.
So, how do I get there?
I think it begins with identifying what it looks like to put on compassion in my own life. If I were to clothe myself with compassion each day, how might I respond to those around me differently? Who might I reach out to as a result? What might gain my attention because I am seeing and looking through the lens of compassion?
As I began to answer these questions for my own life, people started coming to mind, even things like a trip to the grocery store or walking around my own neighborhood look different. The important thing to remember is that when compassion became a sort of rule to live by, a forced action, I know I am getting it wrong. It is not a rule of law that I live with compassion, but rather an inclination of the heart that the Lord is cultivating in me. Compassionate living is the vision that has been cast over my walk with God. It is seeing everyone with equal dignity. It is walking with my eyes that intentionally meet others. It is not looking out for and seeking my own will in every circumstance, but approaching each circumstance considering the other.
This is where I begin to cultivate compassion and clothe myself intentionally, daily with the character of Christ. It is not about attaining perfection, but being somewhere different than I was yesterday.
Fulfilling my own desires and wishes each day do not get me any closer to my God ordained destiny. But living in the clothing of compassion is a game changer. It is drawing and shaping my heart to His and that is truly capturing the destiny I believe He is calling us towards.
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