Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. It’s bitter cold with the outside temperature at a whopping 10 degrees, and venturing out onto the porch to snap a photo this morning was a painful step for me. As I met with the Living God in the warmth of my kitchen, I began to weep for those so much less fortunate than I am…those left out in the cold in more ways than one. Cold people and lost people and sick people and poor people all around, and with the exception of praying for them and doing my small part to attempt to change their lives; I’m powerless. But I know the Miracle Maker and I know the Provider very well, and I know that He has a Plan through it all..even when I don’t understand it and even when it hurts.

It could be so easy to ignore the pain in the world and to consider it somebody else’s problem…if not for having a Christ-like heart. When we strive to have a heart like Christ, we learn what genuine compassion really looks like, and we no longer have just fleeting moments of feeling sorry for people; we hurt for them instead. Over and over we read about the compassion of Christ and over and over again the translation refers to physical agony that He felt over the pain of another. It wasn’t as simple as a fleeting moment of compassion…He didn’t just shake his head and say “that’s too bad” or “that’s so sad”…He hurt for them…He was in agony over their pain. It was when Christ was moved with compassion that He performed some of the most amazing miracles…like feeding thousands and thousands of people from just a little bread and a little fish because they had no food. It’s when compassion kicks-in that action kicks-in and it’s when the heart genuinely hurts for another that we are in agony over their pain. It’s compassion that drives us to our knees to pray for the help we can’t provide on our own, and it’s compassion that forces us into action to help whenever and however we can…with no expectation of return, reward or recognition.

I’m heading into this cold new year with more blessings than any human deserves. I understand where I’ve been and how far I’ve come. I understand that God used my own pain and poverty to tenderize my heart, and I understand that “there is no good thing” in me apart from Him. I am a child of the King and I’m humbled to be Called to do a little Work in His Name. I have a place Reserved for me in Heaven when I leave this temporary home and I’ll have Everlasting Life with my loved ones that are Children of His too. I have a family that is so close and so filled with love that it defies logic; and they’re all healthy and strong. I have a Purpose that was Divinely Designed just for me for and I understand what I need to do to Fulfill it. I have a warm home and a warm heart and every day I strive to have a heart more like Christ…the kind that hurts over the pain of another, and the kind that wants to do something about it if I can. The kind that NEVER overlooks the honor that it is to be able to stand before the Throne of a Mighty God on behalf of another.

How about you?