Welcome to another day the Lord has made that we should rejoice and be glad in. (Psalms 118:24)

Today the Holy Spirit wants to wrap up our focus on God’s compassion by screening ‘The Compassion Of Christ’.

Today’s scripture, Colossians 3:12 NIV
[12] Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

Consider…
In 2004 The Passion of the Christ, an American epic biblical drama film was co-written, co-produced, and directed by Mel Gibson and starred Jim Caviezel as Jesus.

Per Wikipedia, the film primarily covers the final twelve hours before Jesus Christ’s death, known as “the Passion”. It begins with the Agony in the Garden of Olives (i.e., Gethsemane), continues with the betrayal of Judas Iscariot, the brutal Scourging at the Pillar, the suffering of Mary as prophesied by Simeon, the crucifixion and death of Jesus, and ends with a brief depiction of his resurrection. The narrative is interspersed with moments in Jesus’s life, such as The Last Supper and The Sermon on the Mount, and moments of Jesus’ early life.

When the Holy Spirit first shifted my focus from confirmations of God to His compassion, the initial inspiration that came to me was a new movie title called the ‘Compassion Of Christ’.

This love story, played out in the green pastures of grace and beside the meadows of mercy, would be based on John 6:35 (NIV), which says…
[35] Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

Interspersed with this picture of complete satisfaction found in Christ, we would find other compassionate moments like…

• Matthew 9:35-36 (NIV), that captured…[35] Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. [36] When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
• Matthew 14:14-16 (NIV), which captures…[14] When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick. [15] As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.” [16] Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”
• Matthew 20:32-34 (NIV), which shares a special moment when…[32] Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked. [33] “Lord,” they answered, “we want our sight.” [34] Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.

All of these moments expressly state Jesus’ compassion. Yet, there are other compassionate moments that I would have to include, like…

• Christ’s compassionate conversation with the woman at the well (John 4:7-29)
• Christ’s compassionate acceptance of the little children and illustration of childlike faith requirement for Kingdom citizenship (Luke 18:15-17)
• Christ’s compassionate search for a short shunned sinner, to the chagrin of the church (Luke 19:1-10)

…thinking about these three scenes, reminds me of my wife’s persistent point that Jesus was countercultural. Extrapolating that further, compassion is countercultural.

We live in a world with too many passionate people, but not enough compassionate people.

Thus, ‘The Compassion Of Christ’ would also be written to inspire His followers to carryon His compassionate ways.

To emphasize that point, we would close the film with 1 John 3:16-18 (NIV)…
[16] This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. [17] If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? [18] Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.

Of course the script would have too many compassionate moments of Christ to include in today’s blog, but hopefully the snipits shared today give you a general idea.

Lastly, great movies have amazing soundtracks. This movie would include…

• L.A. Mass Choir – Love Lifted Me
• Zach Williams – Less Like Me
• Take 6 – Spread Love
• Lloyd Nicks – Love Like Jesus
• Yolanda Adams – Gotta Have Love
• Michelle Williams – If We Had Your Eyes

…to name a few. But our main song, today’s song, is by Kirk Franklin.

I don’t know if this movie will ever be made, but I do know Christ’s compassion is played out in our lives daily. If you’ve seen it, recommend, and share, it to others.

Today’s song is…
He Loves Me

Blessings 4HG (1 Corinthians 10:31)