But it's a good kind of hurt

"Show mercy and compassion,

everyone to his brother"

Zechariah 7:9

I'm thinking a lot about compassion lately.  We always think of compassion as a good thing.  Caring about others, showing mercy, being selfless...  But recently I watched each of my kids experience compassion for someone else, and in both cases, my kids were hurting.

The first instance was while we were camping.  Amazing Boy went with some of the group when they went fishing.  And afterwards, he was very quiet.  I thought it was because he didn't have a pole of his own, and was disappointed he wasn't able to participate.  But when I asked him what was wrong, he just said quietly, "I thought it was going to be catch-and-release."

I didn't know quite what to say.  We've always explained to our kids that eating meat is part of God's plan for our nourishment (from Genesis 9:3 ~ "Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you.")  But it was hard for me to make that argument in the case of that fish.  The people that my Amazing Boy were fishing with had food back at their camp.  They did not need that fish, in order for them to survive. 

We also teach our children that though some animals are to be used for food, they should be treated as humanely as possible.  Obviously we can't always know if that's the case, and I believe that in this case, the fish was treated as humanely as possible.  But it was the first time he ever saw a meal in it's living state, you know?  It was an animal to him, not a food, and he was hurting.

His sensitivity is only part of why he's amazing....

A few days after we got home, my Awesome Girl wasn't feeling well.  It was a Wednesday, and we usually attend our church's mid-week Bible study on Wednesdays.  The Apple of my Eye was especially looking forward to going, as we had missed the previous Sunday and Wednesday at church because of our vacation.

But then she wasn't feeling well, so she and I stayed home from church that evening.  And she felt terrible for her father, because he had to go without me.  My Amazing Boy was going too, but he'd be with his friends, so my Sweetie would be sitting alone.

And he was fine with that.  He's a grown man and although he'd miss having me next to him, it would just be for a little while.  And besides, he'd have some nice one-on-one time in the car with our Amazing Boy.

But she had compassion for her father, and it was hurting her to think he might be lonely ~ probably because that's how she'd feel in his position.

Her love for her family is only part of why she's awesome....

And I thought to myself, why does compassion have to hurt?

But I think, it's because that's what compassion is.

Mercy is often compared with compassion, but look at the difference in the words:  Mercy means to take pity on someone.  To treat them kindly, especially when you have the power to harm them.

But compassion comes from the Latin for "to suffer with".  And that pretty much answers the question.  Yes, compassion means hurting.  But that's a good thing.

When I decided to share with you what I had discovered about compassion, I thought about what might be a good Bible verse to go along with it.  I wanted a verse about how He wants us to have compassion on our fellow man.  But the only verses I could think of ~ and almost all I could find when I looked ~ was verses about His compassion.

And that fact tells an important truth about Him.  Yes, He wants us to have compassion on others, as evidenced by the highlighted verse in Zechariah.  But He also wants us to know that He has compassion on us.  He loves us, and He hurts when we hurt.  Scripture tells us that over and over again.

Having compassion for others is a good thing, though it hurts.  His compassion for us was painful for Him.  And the supreme definition of love. 

~ "You, O Lord, are a God full of compassion,

and gracious, longsuffering 

and abundant in mercy and truth" ~

Psalm 86:15