"And so, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a
heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing
with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against
anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you."
Colossians 3:12-13

We are to put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and
patience. We see these same virtues in Galatians 5:22-23 listed as the fruit
of the Spirit.   We looked at humility last week, today let's look at our
call to "put on a heart of" compassion.

The Amplified Bible says, "...putting on behavior marked by..."
The New International Version says, "...clothe yourselves with..."

There are several Greek words for compassion, both noun and verb. Let's look
at two of the verbs as defined in "Vine's Expository Dictionary":

Splanchnizomai meaning 'to be moved as to one's inwards, to be moved with
compassion, to yearn with compassion, it is frequently recorded of Christ
towards the multitude and towards individual suffers.'

Sumpatheo meaning 'to suffer with another, to be affected similarly, to have
compassion upon...'

We see the compassion of our Lord to the multitudes in (read each in context
for the whole scene):
Matthew 9:36, "And seeing the multitudes, He felt compassion for them,
because they were distressed and downcast like sheep without a shepherd."

Matthew 14:14, "And when He went ashore, He saw a great multitude, and felt
compassion for them, and healed their sick."

Matthew 15:32, "And Jesus called His disciples to Him, and said, ' I feel
compassion for the multitude, because they have remained with Me now three
days and have, nothing to eat, and I do not wish to send them away hungry,
lest they faint on the way.'"

To individuals:
Matthew 20:34, "And moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes; and
immediately they regained their sight and followed Him."

Mark 1:41 responding to the leper, "And moved with compassion, He stretched
out His hand, and touched him, and said to him, 'I am willing be cleansed.'"

Luke 7:13-15 concerning the widow whose only son had died, "And when the
Lord saw her, He felt compassion for her, and said to her, 'Do not weep'.
And he came up and touched the coffin; and the bearers came to a halt. And
He said, 'Young man, I say to you, arise!' And the dead man sat up..."

There are also examples of individuals who had a heart of compassion.
Luke 10:33-34 concerning the man who was robbed and beaten, "But a certain
Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt
compassion, and came to him, and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and
wine on them; and he put him on his own beast and brought him to an inn, and
took care of him." (Read the whole lesson Jesus was teaching here about a
true heart of compassion, Vs 25-37)

Of the verb Sumpatheo, I leave you with this glorious truth,
"For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses,
but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Let
us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may
receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need." Hebrews 4:15-16

Remember! "...as He is, so also are we in this world." 1 John 4:17
Therefore, as His chosen ones, let us put on a heart of compassion as we are
called to do. Always looking to Christ and yielding to the movement of the
Holy Spirit in our lives.  All praise to our Lord always! Amen