Compassion...

17"When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.' 20So he got up and went to his father.
"But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

21"The son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.' Luke 15:17-21

When his father saw him, Jesus said he was filled with COMPASSION. Compassion means to have sorrow for another. To feel what they have felt. This father felt what his son felt, that he was gone and needed his father.

I need to realized that compassion is not just about feeling for another, but also to understand how another feels, how their situation are. I need to learn to have compassion to understand other people's situations and understand where they are coming from. To have compassion is to love with understanding.

Lord I know you have compassion. You have compassion on everyone because you have died to give me a chance. You have understood what we go through, yet you give us grace to be with you. I ask that you give me compassion to understand and to love so that I may love others as you do. I thank you for such great virtues and give me a Spirit to act this out. Lord I pray this with every thanks in Jesus name.
Amen.