Starting Now - Part 2 (new home for the homeless)

Almost a year ago to the day, I wrote an article titled 'Starting Now'. In it, I discussed the ministry of Levi House. This ministry of my church exists to provide "a safe & effective refuge for Launceston's homeless". At the time of writing, the ministry was still a dream. There had been attempts to purchase a building to use as a homeless shelter, but it had fallen through. The thing that impressed me about the people behind Levi House was that they were not just sitting and waiting for the dream to happen, they were doing what they could - no matter what it was - to make a difference straight away.

Since that time, I have volunteered to become a small part of the ministry, serving meals once a month. It has been a powerfully impacting experience for me.

Now, a year on, an exciting step has occured in the realisation of the full dream of Levi House. As announced today, the Commonwealth Government have donated four million dollars to turn part of our church building into a home for the homeless. That picture that the leaders saw all that time ago is now going to become a reality. For me, this is a personal answer to prayer. It is exciting to think of the lives that have been touched over the last year, and interesting that if the leaders hadn't started with what they had, we may never have gotten to this point. It goes to show that as Jesus said, those who are faithful with a little will be blessed with more.

As for me, I've learned that it is better to feed one hungry person a meal, than to sit and day-dream about feeding all the hungry of the world.

There are exciting times ahead.

Making good on my words

I mentioned in my previous article that one my spiritual goals for this year is to place a higher priority on God's kingdom and let other things take their place behind that. I have done a lot of writing about compassion and poverty in the past, but as James says "faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead" (James 2:17b).

Well, finally, after being inspired and challenged by my time at the National Christian Youth Convention, I am trying to make good on my words. I am blessed to be part of an amazing church that provides so many opportunites to change the world. One of these is Levi House. I have volunteered to help serve meals to the homeless. Tonight was my first night. It was an interesting experience and I really felt like I was following in the steps of Jesus.

I tell this story, not to try to draw attention to myself, but to show what I have learned; that to really call yourself a disciple of Jesus you must do what Jesus did. For me, some form of loving and serving those more disadvantaged than myself is becoming an essential ingredient.

My wonderful wife is also embarking on a new adventure to be the hands and feet of Jesus. She is studying to be a nurse and I am very proud of her.

What the Bible says about Compassion

As mentioned in a previous post, I have been planning to conduct a biblical review on the subject of Compassion. Having had a bit of a look at what the Bible says on the subject, I have come up with the following. This is by no means a complete description of compassion, but some thoughts worth pondering.

The nature of Compassion

Compassion is mindful of other's needs. It is generous.
Exodus 22:27
Compassion never abandons
Nehemiah 9:19, Psalm 103:13, Psalm 112:4, Psalm 145:9
Compassion leads to provision for physical needs
Isaiah 49:10, Matthew 9:36, Matthew 14:14, Matthew 15:32
Compassion goes hand-in-hand with both mercy and grace.
Exodus 33:19, Deuteronomy 13:17, Psalm 51:1, Nehemiah 9:17, Psalm 86:15

God's compassion for us:

Repentance leads to outpooring of God's compassion
Deuteronomy 30:2-4, Judges 2:18, 2 Chronicles 30:9
Compassion leads to forgiveness
Ephesians 4:32
God excercises compassion even during judgement
Deuteronomy 32:36

Our compassion for others

We are instructed to be compassionate
Ephesians 4:32, 1 Peter 3:8
We are instructed to "cloth ourselves" with compassion
Colossians 3:12

Of course studying what the Bible has to say about compassion, without looking for ways to put it into action in our lives is of little use. I think a characteristic like compassion should effect not only the big things such as fighting world poverty, but also the little things, such as the way we interact with people in our daily lives.

Let's try putting it into practice.

Compassion

Something that has been on my mind and my heart lately is Compassion. Specifically, how lacking ours often is when compared to God's.

A quick search for compassion on www.dictionary.com reveals a number of definitions from many sources. Most seem to have two components:

• An awareness of, or sympathy for the suffering of another.


• The desire or motivation to do something about relieving that suffering.

Both parts are important. Without the second, it is not really compassion at all.

I plan to make the time to conduct a study of what the Bible has to say on compassion. Imagine what the world could be like if we had more of it.