Compassion

Psalm 103:13 (New International Version)

 As a father has compassion on his children,

   so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;

Seven-year-old Jonathan Slack of Orland Park, Illinois, was moved when he saw a homeless woman holding a sign that said she and her child had no place to live.

Maybe "moved" is too small a word for what Jonathan felt.

First, he cried, then he decided to do something. The first thing he wanted to do was go back into town so he could give the lady his six dollars. His second idea was to ask President Obama to take money from the rich and give it to the poor.

Jonathan's mother suggested they might try to take up a collection. He agreed.

Jonathan canvassed the neighborhood and asked people to pitch in. Amazingly, with only ten days to go before Christmas -- busy people, financially strapped people -- responded with incredible generosity.

By the time Jonathan was done, over four truckloads of food and toys had been donated -- food and toys that were then sent to the Su Casa Catholic Worker Community's homeless shelter in Chicago.

Now there are a lot of ways this devotion could go. We could talk about how people were moved by the compassion of a young boy. We could speak of the plight of the homeless and our responsibility to help them as Christians.

What we would like to say is this: the Lord can use people who don't say, "no", to Him. He can accomplish great and wonderful things when people are empowered by the Holy Spirit.

He can use an exiled prince to lead His people out of slavery; He can take a small shepherd boy and turn Him into a king. He can use a willing maiden from Nazareth to bring about the birth of the Savior and fulfill His plan to buy back a lost world.

"What can He do with . . . Me, What can He do with… You?" Imagine what just might happen if we set aside our limitations and did what we could to reach out to the lonely; if we gave to the needy; if we prayed for our pastor.

What would happen if we were willing to do our part?

Dear Lord, thank You for sending Your Son to save us. Now we pray that You will use us to accomplish Your work. In Jesus' Name. Amen.