The Friendship Between Compassion and Truth

Lately, this idea of compassion has been tugging on my heart. With politics, social justice issues, and everything in between hate is everywhere and compassion seems to be a memory of something we used to know.

Compassion is the foundation of a love we don't deserve or mercy we were gifted. Compassion is not separate from truth, but it is thought so little of in regards to grace.
Compassion fueled Jesus.

It is equal in importance to the attributes of God as any other attribute, because it is rooted in love. Compassion is love in its darkest and worst days. Don't confuse the idea that compassion takes away the value of truth, rather it says "I know this is hard, and I will walk with you hand in hand" 

​There is this one lady my husband knew from high school who likes to comment on my husband’s statuses about pro-life issues. Initially she started pretty harsh and it was hard to not fly off the handle and just yell, but what I learned is God calls us to have compassion and grace for people.

And EVERYTHING God does is with purpose and intentional. He doesn't teach us about compassion for fun, it’s because that is an attribute all of us should exhibit. Despite my sinful nature to yell and be snarky to her I decided to give her grace and seek compassion from her.

Because of that decision, we now have a full blown beautiful relationship--that not only shows compassion but also speaks truth. Recently she commented on his status and said “I have felt nothing but respect from both you and your wife, and for that I truly thank you. You are the Christians this country needs most right now, and I wholly appreciate your devotion to the betterment of people in general. “

There is a lie that speaking truth and compassion are two separate ideals that can’t go together. But Jesus shows this beautifully with the story of the woman at the well. Most people use this as a story to justify not judging one another, but what this story really shows is how Jesus reached people by showing compassion for the woman, and lovingly speaking truth to her. He shows this woman grace and compassion and loves her with truth. We can do that. We can be that type of example for people’s lives while not sacrificing truth.
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We don’t have to wait to share the gospel or build a relationship with people to share the Gospel, but what we can do is show people the attribute of compassion while we talk about these issues. We don’t have to be mean, but we do have to speak truth. I weep with my friends who weep and mourn with those who mourn because even on our darkest day God is doing the same. Don't forget compassion when you speak out for truth, because my friend’s life hurts, and sin is in every one of us. It's compassion that carried the cross for Christ, and compassion that allows us to carry the burden of sin. Jesus' compassion and grace.​

“12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” Colossians 3:12

About Kaylee

Kaylee lives and works in Denver, CO with her wonderful husband Patrick and their dog Denver.  She is currently pursuing a degree in photography at the University of Colorado Denver, where she is famous for her impeccable taste in scarves and cardigans.  Kaylee uses her gifts in film and photography to create “makes your eyes dance” powerpoint slides for her campus ministry.  Kaylee is a formal member of the Geek Squad Target, where she is a beast at explaining technology to old people.  In her spare time, Kaylee likes to disciple girls and kill zombies.

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