The Love of Compassion

There is a divisive line that weaves its malignant way through the lives of us all—it’s responsible for all manner of misery in the right-minded. One type of person in us makes for this misery; all others suffer. With great irony those least compassionate souls have, themselves, been subjected to sparingly little compassion.

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Those dead to compassion have missed out on their justice. Some aeons ago, those they relied on failed them because those they relied upon had, themselves, been failed. So, the long circuitous phenomenon of the generational curse struck again!

[Lovelessness is a deep chasm that can be broken only with fresh lashings of unreasonable compassion.]

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What need is there of God (to these) when God (in their eyes) has failed them?

What justification is there, likewise, of compassion for others when there is no compassion set aside for them?

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But here is the catch:

Compassion is the nexus of victory in the human striving for freedom. If only the non-compassionate would understand this and they could access this wonderful unremitting love of God, copiously.

Dug down, deep and under, this deeper magic is either obviously visible or completely unintelligible—depending on whether our worldview is etched in compassion or not.

The compassionate soul cannot help but see true justice and injustice at work. The non-compassionate soul, on the other hand, sees askew; their bearing for justice has not been calibrated correctly. Justice and compassion go hand in hand.

We cannot appreciate true justice if we cannot appreciate compassion.

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Compassion is the Lord in the sweeping flow of life. It meanders gently though fervently; an undercurrent through the whole of life.

It divines need from want; soul-poverty from self-righteousness. It runs in the direction that’s straight, true, and right. It takes pity on the humble and laughs with subdued derision at the proud complainant. Like the Word of God, compassion is living and active (Hebrews 4:12). It cannot be duped but is always cordial in its treatment.

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Compassion melts at the sight of evil; never because of fear, but due the lack of love, and the presence of selfishness, deceit, and self-pity on show. Conversely, it bears its soft side when at home in the lap of love—where notations of self-sacrifice are clearly evident.

Like humility, compassion’s other-focused and other-directed.

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Could there be a godlier portion of virtue than compassion? Merciful and kind, enriched with clement grace, ever-understanding, and adorned with a patient humility, compassion is always pleasant and in season. It is God’s gift to the virtuous.

© 2011 S. J. Wickham.