Champion of Compassion

Devotional Passage: Mark 1:40-43
And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean. Mark 1:41

While driving home for the holidays across northern New Mexico, my son, Kirby, stopped for gas and was approached by a Navajo man who asked for a ride. “I’m not going far,” Kirby told him. “I’ll be turning off the highway a few miles out.” The man asked if he could ride with him that far. In spite of misgivings about picking up strangers, Kirby felt impressed to let the man ride with him. Kirby witnessed to the man, who accepted Christ. My son couldn’t see leaving him stranded on the highway, so he drove 100 miles out of his way to take him home.

Trying to explain his late arrival to his clearly upset parents, Kirby simply said, “I celebrated with joy all the way home because I helped a lost man find Jesus.” Even as Jesus showed compassion on the leper, my son showed compassion on one who not only needed a ride but a Savior as well.

Ask God to help you be a champion of compassion today. Someone in need is waiting.

Father, in a world that is often cold and unfeeling, help me show concern for 
someone going through a difficult time.

©Fall 2008 Open Windows devotional guide. Used by permission. For information about Open Windows, go online: www.lifeway.com/magazines