Eyes of Compassion

Matthew 15:32 “Then Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, ‘I have compassion on the crowd because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.’”

There are several times in the Gospel of Matthew when it’s described that Jesus looked on people and had compassion on them. It could have been when they were hungry, when they were bringing those sick to Him, or the diseased crying out for help. The Lord gives so many examples of when He felt compassion and also when He lived out compassion. He invested so much time in teaching the people, explaining deeper truths when they didn’t understand, healing crowds upon crowds of people, feeding them, and walking great distances to tell people about the kingdom of God.

In my own life, I seek the compassion and mercy of Christ. I pray for His mercy on me. Then I begin to wonder, am I looking at others the way Christ looks at them with eyes of compassion? Am I being merciful to others in the same way that I would ask God to be merciful towards me? Am I demonstrating compassion to others the way that I pray Christ has compassion on me? Am I feeding the hungry, offering an encouraging word, or lifting up prayers on their behalf?

When people look in my eyes, will they see condemnation and judgment or will they see love and compassion?