SUNDAY September 27, 2026

Do You Exhibit Compassion?

Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another....
1 Peter 3:8

Again, Peter instilled in the hearts of believers that the Church, under persecution, needed to remain united. They were to be on the same channel––of the same mind. Peter sought to develop them into mature Christians who readily became one mind with other believers. Satan, for sure, will attack our minds with evil thoughts. He wants to disturb our peaceful oneness with others. He also wants to instill fear and tries to get us to think negatively: Well, maybe the best thing for me to do is to walk away from God. Do not let demonic thoughts enter your mind!

The second exhortation Peter gave was for believers to have compassion for one another. What does compassion mean exactly? Basically, Peter shared that they should do something to help each other. Compassion is not pity. Compassion is coming alongside a person to help them in any way you can. We are also to be sincerely sympathetic, which can be hard for some of us. However, as we go through sufferings and trials, God is faithful to teach us to feel compassion and sympathy toward others.

When Pastor Dale lost his son, I could not really relate. I had lost friends, and later in life, I lost my wife, but I have never lost a son. You see, God will bring us into deep places of sorrow so that we can learn how to comfort and relate to others. We show them great compassion because we know exactly how it feels to suffer the loss of a loved one. Having gone through the school of suffering, we become comforters to others.  Nothing we go through in life is ever wasted. God helps us to be empathetic and to demonstrate His compassion toward others.

It is sometimes hard to open up and share what we have been through because we feel so vulnerable. But when somebody suffers, we suffer with them. When a person weeps, we weep with them; and when they are joyful, we are joyful with them (Romans 12:15). That is what makes us believers in Christ. It makes us like-minded.

A Christian ought to be a comforter, with kind words on his lips and sympathy in his heart.
~C.H. Spurgeon~

For more from Raul Ries, please visit SomebodyLovesYou.com!