Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. It’s cold outside this morning and venturing out onto the porch to snap a photo 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. When I closed my eyes, I could see cold people, lost people, sick people, and poor people all around, and the image overwhelmed me. Except for the honor 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. Isn’t that the way you see it too?

It could be so easy to ignore the pain in the world or 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 again 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” or “I’ll pray for you” …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 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 its compassion that forces us into action to help whenever and however we can…with no expectation of return, reward, or recognition.

These days there are plenty of people salivating over a stimulus check they believe they deserve, and even more people whining about how little it is. I’ve read comments made by the entitled ones like “that won’t even pay my rent” – or “that won’t put new tires on my car” or “Hurray! Beach here I come”…sad but true. Some people desperately need aid, while plenty of others don’t need it at all. Will it help? Of course, it will. Every little bit helps when people are in need. But I wonder what the world would look like if those non-suffering recipients would hand out their hand-out to someone else in need instead of spending it like the “found money” it is? At the break of this new year there are over 5 million people facing homelessness – 5 million people in line for foreclosure or eviction all because of the hand-outs that always get repaid one way or another…like it or not. Will we continue to sit back and blame our circumstances on the government OR will we step up the way God tells us to step up…offering an endless supply of “hand-outs” from the One who already paid the price?

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 found worthy 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 His Children 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 someone else…the kind of Heart that knows I’m NOT getting what I deserve because Jesus already paid the price for me.

How about you?

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? 1 John 3:17