Callous

 

He has blinded their eyes
and hardened their hearts,
so they can neither see with their eyes,
nor understand with their hearts,
nor turn—and I would heal them.—Isaiah 6:10

 

          I didn’t see them. People curled in their blankets, clinging to the narrow ledge under an interstate bridge. Clusters of indigent men and women huddled in cardboard hovels, struggling to survive. Desperate words scrawled on paper signs held by filthy hands:  please help me. The hopeless.  The weary.  The mentally ill.  The addicts. 

 

          My husband saw them.  Each  time we drove into Atlanta, he would point them out to me.  (I often wished he wouldn’t.  The sight of them made me very uncomfortable, a tug at my heart I wanted to ignore.)  He would stop on the side of the road and give away a bottle of water, a granola bar, sometimes even money if that’s all he had.  He’d make the person promise to use the five dollar bill to buy food, knowing this was a promise easily broken.  I’d shake my head, clucking disapprovingly, “You know where that money is going, don’t you?” 

But he’d reply mildly, “It doesn’t matter. I have to do what I think is right.  How that man uses the money is his choice.”

          While his heart reached out to help them, my heart ran for cover.  It was hardened and cold, looking for justification in John 12:8, “You will always have the poor among you.”  I’m sure Jesus didn't mean for me to forget about them, or judge them for their life choices, or keep my hands in my pockets when they needed my help. 

Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the LORD, who has compassion on you.—Isaiah 54:10

 

          God’s unfailing love for you and me will not be shaken.  His unfailing love for the homeless, the poor, the troubled will not be shaken.  How can I demonstrate this steadfast love to those I refuse to see? 

 

          Time for a change of heart.  Oh, dear.  They always hurt.

 

• Jesus had compassion on two blind men and restored their vision. (Matthew 20:34) 
• When Jesus saw the large crowd in Matthew 14, Jesus had compassion on them and healed their sick. 
• In Matthew 15, Jesus had compassion on the hungry crowd, and fed them. 

When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.—Mark 6:34

 

          Every time I found the word compassion in the Gospels, it was followed by Jesus’ quick, decisive action:  feeding, healing, teaching.  He didn’t shake his head sadly, say “Oh, what a shame!” and leave the blind to stumble along the side of the road. He did something!

 

          Compassion demands action. A bottle of water, a five dollar bill, a meal for a homeless shelter.  Giving up something of ourselves.   Scraping away the hard, dry callus to reveal the pure, sweet compassion waiting just beneath.

 

Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.—1 Peter 3:8

 

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Father, compassion requires action. Teach me to see people as you do, as your beloved children.  Teach me to take action, just as Jesus did.