The Mark of Compassion

She said to her mistress, "If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy."

2 Kings 5:3

Compassion is a sincere concern for the suffering of others. Jesus is the epitome of compassion. Compassion is the motive for everything he does now and everything he did before the crucifixion. We are God's representatives on Earth. Compassion should move us. The suffering of others should inspire us to do something to alleviate it.

In the book of 2 Kings, we find an example of compassion that often goes unnoticed. It is what a young girl did for His master. We know her as Naaman's slave. This young, unnamed Hebrew was taken captive in Syria but never let her challenging circumstances diminish her immense faith in a good God.

We do not know much about her. We can piece together that she was probably captured in a raid in her village. She had been sold into slavery and worked as a maid. We do not know how she had been treated, but she dared to speak up to help Naaman. She knew her God could heal him.

We often think that only people with easy and pain-free lives can feel compassion for others, but that is not true. If only people that do not know suffering could care for others, no one would. The truth is that people who have suffered the most are the most compassionate because they know pain.

We become more compassionate and have greater empathy after we have experienced losses or have been through trauma. This young girl was sufficiently concerned about the health of her master to speak up to try to help his situation. She is a real inspiration. She had compassion for people who used her. She had lost her family but not her compassion or her faith.

We, the followers of Christ, are the church. Our compassion should be evident. People should be able to see that mark of Christ in us from afar. God has been so good and so faithful to us that no matter if we are in a good season or a tough one, we should follow the example of this young Hebrew girl. We must do what we can to alleviate the pain around us.