What is Biblical Compassion?
Hospitality is not about you and me. It is “a sense of empathy for the distress of others coupled with the desire to minimize that distress and demonstrate kindness and mercy.” Compassionate hospitality takes the attention off of ourselves and directs it upon others. Compassion leads to action. Jesus is our primary example. He actively felt compassion for the lost and hungry multitudes that constantly surrounded Him and demanded His attention. He tirelessly gave Himself to meet their needs, both physical (with the provision of food) and spiritually (ministering to their heart). Read more: Matt. 14:13-21; Mark 6:31-44; 8:2; Luke 9:11-17. If we follow in the footsteps of Jesus our hospitality will include: nurturing the abandoned; providing material needs; weeping, mourning, praying, and, when appropriate, fasting for others; sharing your faith with the spiritually bankrupt (Matt. 11:28-30); encouraging the weak and oppressed (Isa. 40:11; 42:3; Matt. 12:18-21); assisting with the needs o
